Israel’s Annexation Crusade in Jerusalem: The Role of Ma’ale Adumim and the E1 Corridor

Buoyed by US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as its capital, Israel has intensified efforts to annex settlements and areas bordering the city, including Ma’ale Adumim and the E1 corridor. Al-Shabaka US Policy Fellow Zena Agha analyzes the implications of annexation and recommends ways the international community and Palestinians can work to block this disastrous outcome.

With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing possible corruption charges, Israeli political parties are preparing to vie for the country’s leadership. But for Palestinians, Israel’s politics foreshadow a deterioration of their rights regardless of who prevails. Al-Shabaka Analyst Amjad Iraqi examines the political scene and recommends ways to alter the structures that allow Israel to systematically deny Palestinian rights.

The Palestinian Authority claims it is looking for ways to delink from Israel. It should start with the Paris Protocol: It expired 19 years ago but continues to be the basis for economic relations. Al-Shabaka Analyst Nur Arafeh demonstrates how the Protocol has hurt the Palestinian economy while benefiting Israel and outlines alternative economic arrangements.

The US Palestine solidarity movement is returning to a joint struggle approach, a strategy that faded after the Oslo Accords when dominant solidarity activists focused on Palestine as a single issue. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Loubna Qutami traces this development, assesses its benefits and challenges, and recommends ways to strengthen organizing for Palestinians in the US.

The term apartheid is often used to refer to the situation of the Palestinians under occupation. Al-Shabaka Policy Fellow Yara Hawari examines the application of the term to the Palestinian citizens of Israel by focusing on citizenship, land, education, and politics. She also discusses whether such analysis can advance this community’s rights and counter fragmentation among Palestinians as a whole.

New technologies have enabled Israel to surveil Palestinians on an unprecedented scale. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Nadim Nashif examines Israel’s use of social media as a tool of surveillance, as well as other digital obstacles to Palestinian rights, and concludes with ways Palestinians can counter these practices and safeguard their digital freedoms.

Palestinian women in Israel have one of the world’s lowest labor participation rates, while their Jewish counterparts have one of the highest. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Suheir Daoud argues this is not simply a result of “Palestinian culture” or “Islam,” but of Israeli state policies, and recommends ways Palestinians can promote Palestinian women’s rights in Israel.

Though apartheid is an important framework for challenging Israeli rule, Al-Shabaka Analyst Haidar Eid and Guest Contributor Andy Clarno argue that true justice can only come by recognizing apartheid as not only a system of racial discrimination, but also of racial capitalism. Drawing on the South African example, the authors recommend ways to move the analysis forward.

Though Palestine’s water scarcity is often portrayed as natural due to the region’s climate, it is a man-made crisis engineered by Israel. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Muna Dajani examines how international donors shore up this inequality through infrastructure projects and scientific collaboration with Israel, and suggests ways Palestinians can push for just solutions to the crisis.

As Israel’s military occupation reaches its 50th year, Al-Shabaka Program Director Alaa Tartir argues that the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces have not protected Palestinians, but have instead contributed to the criminalization of the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Tartir analyzes the evolution and “reform” of the PA security establishment and concludes with recommendations to overhaul the PA forces.