Sam Bahour

New digital technologies have reinvigorated the Palestinian cause locally and globally. However, Palestinians and their allies have been increasingly targeted online, including through surveillance, silencing, and cyberthreats. In this Focus On, Al-Shabaka analysts examine these trends and address Israeli surveillance tactics, the complicity of the PA, and how Palestinians and their allies can resist violations of their digital rights.

Palestinian resistance to Israeli hegemony is transforming significantly. In this Focus On, Al-Shabaka’s policy analysts examine the trajectory of contemporary Palestinian resistance. They focus on ongoing challenges, including the censorship of anti-Zionist activists, and the persecution of Palestinians by Palestinian security forces. They emphasize which actors and tactics should be harnessed as the resistance continues to grow and confront oppression.

The Trump Administration’s aid cuts to Palestinians, while disastrous, can spur a reassessment of the Oslo Accords aid model, which for decades has failed to bring Palestinians closer to freedom, self-determination, or statehood. In this collection of pieces, Al-Shabaka analysts examine aid to Palestine and its harmful ramifications, and suggest ways to reform and reinvent Palestinian aid.

The higher education system serving Palestinians has contributed to and been impacted by national fragmentation. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Sam Bahour discusses an initiative he spearheaded to establish a Palestinian university in Cyprus, as well as earlier attempts to create Palestinian institutions of higher learning, and concludes with recommendations for those who might take up similar projects in the future.

September 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the Oslo Accords. Looking back, how did the agreement impact the Palestinian national project and cohesion as a people? What does a post-Oslo Palestine look like? Al-Shabaka analysts Sam Bahour and Amal Ahmad delve into these questions and more in this month’s Palestine Policy Lab, facilitated by Nadia Hijab.

Al-Shabaka presents a selection of pieces from its archives in which its policy analysts discuss issues related to the reform of PLO institutions and questions of legitimate political representation.

With the election of Donald Trump, Israel believes it is free to do what it likes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, making a difficult Palestinian leadership transition much harder. Al-Shabaka policy analysts examine different scenarios and propose alternatives ranging from consolidating the state to a struggle for the rights of the Palestinian people as a whole.

Once the US elections drama concludes, some believe Barack Obama will seize a final opportunity to act on Palestine-Israel. In this roundtable, Al-Shabaka policy analysts debate the probability of such a step, what form it could take, possible pitfalls, and what Palestinians should be doing to further their quest for freedom, equality, and self-determination.

On January 18 the European Union Foreign Affairs Council may decide additional measures against Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Sam Bahour and Guest Author Mousa Jiryis urge the EU to bypass the US and take the lead in bringing about a just resolution to the conflict, saving themselves money and ending a key source of regional instability.

A not-so-silent Palestinian majority opposes a peace that brings no justice. This fact underlies Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Sam Bahour’s trenchant reality check for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s push for a two-state solution. Bahour disposes of the myths still shrouding the failed negotiations and calls for economic investment of the right kind on the path to freedom, justice and equality.