Arafat, Yasir, 1929-2004

The Human Factor gives a behind-the-scenes view of the peace effort between Israel and Palestine. We talk with filmmaker Dror Moreh and Dennis Ross, President Clinton's point man in the effort.

Ronen Bergman says that while Israel's shootings, poisonings, bombings and drone strikes against its perceived enemies were "tactical successes," they were also diplomatically harmful.

James Bennet is the former Jerusalem Bureau chief for The New York Times. He recently returned to the Middle East to cover the death of Arafat and the jockeying for power among the Palestinian factions.

Award-winning Israeli journalist Danny Rubinstein. He has a new book called The Mystery of Arafat (Steerforth Press) which looks into the image of the P-L-O leader, Yasser Arafat. Rubinstein is a columnist for the Hebrew daily Ha'aretz and has been writing on Palestinian issues since 1967. He is also the author of the book The People of Nowhere. Rubinstein presently lives in Jerusalem where he teaches in the department of Middle East History at Ben-Gurion University.

Hanan Mikhail-Ashrwai, former spokesperson for the PLO from 1991 to 1993. Ashrawi was the chief spokesperson for the Palestinian delegation at the Middle East peace negotiations. There are two books about her life and her role in the peace process: her personal account, This Side of Peace, and A Voice of Reason: Hanan Ashrawi and Peace in the Middle East by Barbara Victor.

Journalist Youseff Ibrahim, reporter at "The New York Times" since 1977. He talks about the current situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories.

Thomas Friedman is a Middle East correspondent for "The New York Times," and author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning book "From Beirut to Jerusalem." He'll talk about last week's pact between Israel and Jordan.

Biographer Andrew Gowers. He's co-written (with Tony Walker) a new biography of Yasser Arafat, "Behind the Myth: Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Revolution." (Olive Branch Press). The book explores Arafat's nearly 40 years as a Palestinian activist. Gowers and his co-author spent hundreds of hours interviewing PLO officials, including Arafat, as well as American, Arab and European officials. Gowers is a Features Editor of the Financial Times and was the paper's Middle East Editor. He comments frequently on the Middle East for British radio and TV.