Veteran Middle East scholar David Makovsky has joined the team of US Middle East peace envoy Martin Indyk as a senior strategist and adviser, Al Monitor reports.

“Drawing upon decades of experience working and writing on Israeli-Palestinian issues, Makovsky will serve as a strategist for the U.S. efforts and will be dealing with the wide range of issues associated with the negotiations,” a State Department official said in a statement. “We believe this expertise will greatly contribute to the ongoing efforts to achieve peace.”

Makovsky, a former journalist, has most recently served as a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he directed the project on the Middle East peace process. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Just recently, Makovsky told the NY Times he did not expect much to happen until the end of the nine-month timetable.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)