The only global network of Palestinian experts to produce critical policy analysis and collectively imagine a new policymaking paradigm for Palestine and Palestinians worldwide.

Policy Briefs

In-depth analysis on existing or potential policies that impact possibilities for Palestinian liberation. Policy briefs are peer-reviewed and include recommendations for engagement.

 Civil Society
In their struggle against Zionist settler colonialism, Palestinians have long worked towards establishing a resistance economy. Today, food sovereignty constitutes a natural continuation of this process, building upon the principles of agricultural self-sufficiency practiced throughout the history of the Palestinian revolution. In this policy brief, Fathi Nimer traces the origins of food sovereignty and the challenges Palestinians face today to effectively put the framework into practice. He argues that doing so will help better recontextualize the resistance economy and help pave the way for a more contentious economic order.
Al-Shabaka Fathi Nimer
Fathi Nimer· Aug 27, 2024
 Refugees
For decades, Israel has spearheaded a campaign against UNRWA meant to erase the question of Palestinian refugees and their collective right of return. While not new, the latest defunding of the agency by Israel’s allies is unprecedented in terms of its scope and perilous timing.
Al-Shabaka Shatha Abdulsamad
Shatha Abdulsamad· Apr 30, 2024
 Politics
Disinformation is being produced at industrial scale by official Israeli sources to justify its ongoing genocide in Gaza. Journalists and open-source intelligence analysts have only added fuel to this fire of Palestinian dehumanization by propping up the false news without necessary scrutiny. In his latest policy brief, Tariq Kenney-Shawa delves into Israel’s information warfare tactics, exploring how these efforts have contributed to the decay of truth and how they hamper efforts to organize a global response. He offers recommendations for reporters, analysts, and the wider public to leverage open-source tools to refute dominant Israeli propaganda and disinformation.
Al-Shabaka Tariq Kenney-Shawa
Tariq Kenney-Shawa· Mar 12, 2024
 Politics
In recent years, much has been written about the overwhelming support former President Donald Trump has received from white evangelical Christians, particularly Christian Zionists. Less examined is the relationship between white supremacy and Christian Zionism, namely their overlapping ideologies and political clout. In this policy brief, analysts Halah Ahmad and Mimi Kirk examine the sinister synergy between Christian Zionism and white supremacy, unpacking the exceptionalism upon which Christian Zionist racist ideologies, discourses, and politics are based.
Al-Shabaka Halah Ahmad
Al-Shabaka Mimi Kirk
Halah Ahmad,Mimi Kirk· Oct 3, 2023

Commentaries

Insights and perspectives on social, political, and economic questions related to Palestine and Palestinians globally.

 Civil Society
In this commentary, Samer Alatout offers key insights into this new wave of student mobilization. He details student demands and places them within the historical legacy of US student organizing. He also examines the relationship between university administrators, students, and faculty, and finds hope in the kinship emerging between the latter two groups at this critical moment.
Al-Shabaka Samer Alatout
Samer Alatout· Jul 14, 2024
 Politics
On May 17, 2024, the US began operating a temporary floating pier off the coast of Gaza. Since the project’s announcement, many have expressed skepticism towards the pier’s effectiveness and deep concern regarding the US’s long-term plans and the pier’s potential role in serving Israeli objectives. This commentary examines the pier’s operations and unpacks the many incentives for its development by key geopolitical players. It positions the pier within Israel’s longer-term strategy for Palestine, using the structure as a window into understanding the regime’s broader regional aims. Temporary or not, this commentary contends that the pier must not be viewed as merely a short-term humanitarian effort, but also as a symbol of the US and Israel’s continued imperial and colonial endeavors.
 Politics
Since the beginning of the Zionist project in Palestine, large efforts have been exerted to paint all resistance to its colonial endeavors as irrational and at odds with progress and modernity. This deliberately manufactured dichotomy between the prosperous and civilized Settler and the regressive and rejectionist Arab standing in the way of progress set the tone for developments between Palestinians and Zionist settlers for decades to come. In this commentary, Al-Shabaka analyst Fathi Nimer explores the nascence of this trope, unpacking its weaponization to deny Palestinians their fundamental rights and demonize their collective aspirations for sovereignty.
Al-Shabaka Fathi Nimer
Fathi Nimer· Jun 4, 2024

Policy Focus

Compilations of past Al-Shabaka works surrounding a specific theme.

 Politics
As the Israeli regime continues its genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza, many have begun to weigh in on the future of Hamas and of Palestinian leadership more broadly once the bombardment ends. One of the dominant proposals is the revival of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), with Hamas as a member party. But revival of the PLO requires more than bringing Hamas into the fold, as the Fatah-controlled PA has effectively whittled down the PLO to a barren institution. What then, beyond inclusion, is needed in order to resuscitate the viability of the PLO? In an effort to strengthen the generative thinking around these questions, Al-Shabaka revisits a collection of its past works that sought to confront this very topic.
 Politics
As much of the world struggles to make sense of the devastation across colonized Palestine since October 7th, Palestinians speaking out continue to be dehumanized and silenced in an effort to quash testimonies that challenge the dominant discourse. To counter this strategy, Al-Shabaka has compiled a collection of its past works that may serve to ground readers in the wider context of this current moment. Together, these publications, webinars, and podcasts speak to the many layers that form the foundation of this point of rupture. They offer possibilities for new ways both to understand the past and present, as well as to envision a radically different future.
 Politics
In this Focus On, Al-Shabaka’s policy analysts imagine Palestinian political futures within the context of historical and ongoing realities. Among other topics, they revisit the history of popular committees and consensus-building efforts during the First Intifada to show how local Palestinian governance might be strengthened, and how we might rethink the meaning of self-determination from the grassroots. They consider how various aspects of Palestinian society, including health, education, and policing, could be transformed to help sustain a new political vision for liberation, and revive popular engagement in colonized Palestine and beyond. And they examine the different means through which Palestinians can utilize international legal avenues to strategize an effective anti-apartheid movement. 
Al-Shabaka 2023 Research

Grounding the Gaza Genocide

Al-Shabaka has compiled a collection of its past works that may serve to ground readers in the wider context of this current moment.

The only global network of Palestinians who produce critical policy analysis and put Palestinian policy voices on the map

Al-Shabaka is a network of intellectuals, practitioners, and activists based in Palestine and around the globe, collectively imagining a new policymaking paradigm for Palestine.

Al-Shabaka policy network

Policy Labs

Our monthly webinar series that brings together Palestinian experts to discuss and debate policy and strategy related to Palestine in front of a live audience.

 Civil Society
In our upcoming policy lab, Marwa Fatafta and Antony Loewenstein join host Tariq Kenney-Shawa to discuss Gaza as a testing ground for Israel’s global war industry.
In this policy lab, Nour Joudah and Kylie Broderick join host Tariq Kenney-Shawa to discuss some of the key lessons to be gleaned from the encampments and how we can best build on them to strengthen the Palestine solidarity movement moving forward.
 Politics
In this policy lab, Ihab Maharmeh and Ahmed Abu Ziad join us with facilitator Fathi Nimer to discuss the past, present, and future of the student movement in Palestine.

Policy Memos

Concise analysis into a specific policy, its background and implications.

 Politics
UK arms companies have long profited from selling weapons to Israel, with licenses issued from the British government. Since 2008, these exports have totaled an estimated $740 million, continuing even amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Following the Labour Party's July 2024 election victory, which promised alignment with international law, some were cautiously optimistic that an arms embargo would be forthcoming. In September 2024, the British government suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel. Activists and human rights groups argue that this is far too limited. Accordingly, this policy memo details Britain's international legal obligations and potential governmental maneuvers regarding arms sales to Israel.
Shahd Hammouri· Sep 15, 2024
 Politics
In this policy memo, Tariq Dana examines the mutually reinforcing interests of the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel that fuel the prospective agreement. He interrogates Saudi's feigned solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and situates the normalization deal within shifting regional dynamics.
Al-Shabaka Tariq Dana
Tariq Dana· Jul 30, 2024

Roundtables

Commentary that brings together insights from multiple analysts.

 Politics
In this roundtable, Al-Shabaka analysts Belal Shobaki, Tariq Kenney-Shawa, and Fathi Nimer offer their insights on the impact of Haniyeh's assassination. They reflect on Hamas's future, the impetus behind the operation, and its wider regional consequences, placing them within the historical context of so-called Israeli diplomacy.
 Politics
While it remains unclear how and when Israel will respond to Iran’s operation, geopolitics have undoubtedly already shifted. In this roundtable, Al-Shabaka analysts Fadi Quran, Fathi Nimer, Tariq Kenney-Shawa, and Yara Hawari offer insights on the regional impact of Iran’s recent maneuver and situate the ongoing genocide in Gaza within this broader context.

Rethinking Palestine

Rethinking Palestine is a podcast from Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, a transnational think tank that brings together Palestinians from across the globe to produce critical policy analysis and craft visions for a liberated, self-determined future. Host Yara Hawari engages with various Palestinian analysts to discuss recent developments and long-standing questions facing Palestinians worldwide.

Al-Shabaka rethinking palestine podcast

Recent Podcast

 Politics
In this episode, our host Yara Hawari joins hosts of the Makdisi Street podcast Saree, Ussama and Karim Makdisi to discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza, intra Palestinian-Israeli politics and more.
Al-Shabaka Yara Hawari
Yara Hawari· Sep 11, 2024

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Media & Outreach

The region braces for further attacks after Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Hezbollah is still reeling from the killing of its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. As the group mourns his death and weighs its options, Israel has carried out more strikes, killing another of Hezbollah’s top leaders. But beyond words, what does this mean for an already volatile region?
Al-Shabaka M. Muhannad Ayyash
M. Muhannad Ayyash · Sep 30, 2024
Israeli forces have been carrying out a series of raids in the occupied West Bank. In Hebron, Israeli soldiers entered the city of Dura and searched more than 30 homes. They also raided towns near Nablus, Ramallah and Jenin. The Palestinian Prisoners Society says 25 people were detained, included a woman and a wounded man. Al-Shabaka policy analyst Fathi Nimer told Al Jazeera English that there have been an increase in attacks by the settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Al-Shabaka Fathi Nimer
Fathi Nimer· Sep 26, 2024
“The work for Palestinians today is to explore how we can reclaim our revolutionary legacy and extend it into the twenty-first century,” Al-Shabaka board president Tareq Baconi told The New York Review of Books.
Al-Shabaka Tareq Baconi
Tareq Baconi· Sep 21, 2024
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