Jan. 12, Wednesday -- Under the new leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, who won election Sunday as president of the Palestinian Authority with 62.3 percent of the vote, Palestine starts a new chapter, says UC Davis political scientist Zeev Maoz. He will analyze Middle East politics and potentials at a noon-time talk, titled "The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict after Arafat: The Beginning of the End?" Maoz is an expert on Middle East security, including politics, economics and strategic military issues. The former director of the Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Maoz has just finished a new book, "Defending the Holy Land?" that will be published this year. Sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Affairs, Maoz's talk will be held 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m. in 360 Shields Library on the UC Davis campus.