The topic on Al Jazeera Arabic’s controversial yet highly popular talk show “Opposite Direction” this week was the Obama presidency, one year later.

The host questioned the sincerity of President Obama’s outreach to Arabs and Muslims. Faisal al-Qasem, the Syrian host of al-Itijah al-Mo’akis, likened President Obama to a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing.

Al-Qasem accused Obama of speaking from both sides of his mouth and alleged that the Arabs’ problem was believing Obama’s sugar-coated words:

Al Arabiya news channel reported on the upcoming African Cup football match between Egypt and Algeria. Egypt beat Cameroon 3-1 to set up a repeat of the intense World Cup playoff against Algeria.

The last time these two teams faced each other was in Khartoum, Sudan, which was followed with violence and enormous tension across the Arab world.

Today’s lead headline in Israeli center-left newspaper Haaretz was about Israeli president Shimon Peres’ speech to the German parliament. Speaking on the anniversary of the Auschwitz death camp’s liberation, Peres called for the surviving perpetrators of the Holocaust to be brought to justice.

Abdel al-Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, published in London, wrote an op-ed yesterday on the stalled Middle East peace process — in light of U.S. envoy George Mitchell’s recent visit to the region.

Atwan, who was born in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, is an outspoken critic of many Arab governments. He attributes Mitchell’s lack of progress to:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to retain Jewish settlements in the West Bank and keep complete control of those areas.

• The refusal of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to return to the negotiating table again without an Israeli commitment to a freeze on settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

• U.S. President Barack Obama giving in to Israeli pressure on the settlements.

Atwan argues that another intifada is likely because of the stalemate in the peace process. He also thinks Fatah and Hamas may be forced to reconcile if progress is not made.

- Mohammad Al-Kassim

However, a year later, there is some movement toward a resumption of talks. Mitchell will be going back to the region in the next few days, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to meet tomorrow with officials from Jordan and Egypt.

To take a deeper look at the issues, Alon Ben-Meir, a senior fellow at New York University’s School of Global Affairs, joins Daljit Dhaliwal. Ben-Meir discusses why the timing is right to resume the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. He also talks about the new role settlements are playing in the peace process.

The two men — and the nations they represent — have been searching for months for a way to resolve differences over Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The U.S. has been pushing hard for an Israeli settlement freeze, and the Palestinians are refusing to restart peace talks until Israel halts all construction there.

Despite their failure to reach agreement again on Wednesday, the two sides will resume talks in Washington next week.

What do you think it will take to reach a Middle East peace agreement? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Daniel Levy, a senior research fellow for the New America Foundation and a former advisor to the Israeli government, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the U.S. and Israeli positions and prospects for a broader Middle East peace deal.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke of tougher sanctions against Iran as Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak took a tougher approach, making clear that Israel has not ruled out military action.

The U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, traveled to Syria and Egypt.

Daniel Levy, the co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss developments out of the Middle East.

Next week, the Obama administration is putting Israel front and center, sending three high-ranking officials there — Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, National Security Advisor Jim Jones and special envoy George Mitchell.

Iran and its nuclear program are expected to be high on the agenda. This week, U.S. and Israeli officials aborted a test of a planned missile-defense shield for Israel.

Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies joins Martin Savidge to discuss the possibility that Israel might attack Iranian nuclear sites and how Iran and the U.S. would react to an Israeli attack on Iran.

The meeting was held one day after it was reported that Israel may be open to a freeze on settlement building.

Ghassan Shabaneh, an assistant professor of international studies at Marymount Manhattan College, joins Martin Savidge to discuss Palestinians’ concerns about settlements and other issues.

Israel is reportedly open to the idea of a freeze on building new settlements in the West Bank for three to six months as part of a broader peace effort.

In the meantime, however, Israel has approved of 50 new housing units in the West Bank for settlers who were earlier evicted from an unauthorized outpost.

Daniel Levy, a senior fellow and the co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the importance of the settlement issue to the peace process.

Mitchell arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday after first stopping in North Africa. On the top of his agenda: Discussions about a two-state solution to bring peace between Palestinians and Israelis, something Prime Minister Netanyahu has so far refused to endorse.

Daniel Levy, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington D.C., joins Martin Savidge to discuss Mitchell’s time in North Africa, his support for a two-state solution and his scheduled meeting with Palestinian leaders on Friday.

They discuss the economic forum in Davos, George Mitchell’s mission in the Middle East and the situation in Afghanistan.

The president’s special representative, George Mitchell, arrived in the region today, even as the cease-fire was strained by new violence between Israel and Hamas.

Daniel Levy, the director of the Middle East task force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss Mitchell’s mission in Gaza, the U.S. approach to Syria and the president’s decision to do an interview with Al-Arabiya.

Other developments since President Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday include the decision to shut down Guantánamo and indications of a stronger stance with regard to China.

Gideon Rose of Foreign Affairs Magazine and Carol Giacomo of The New York Times editorial board join Martin Savidge to discuss the new direction of U.S. foreign policy.