COVID-19 is stalking Hebron, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem despite all efforts to keep it at bay. What lessons can be drawn from the Palestinian leadership's response of the past months at the national and community level? Al-Shabaka policy analysts Fadi Quran and Tahani Mustafa draw insights, lessons and conclusions based on a review of global and local actions.  

The PLO has been hollowed out by the creation of the PA, which itself is on the brink as Israeli annexation looms. What features of Palestinian leadership contributed to this near-terminal state? Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Jamil Hilal’s sweeping review of the past 100 years identifies critical elements such as strategic thinking, unity, and access to information that went missing during key periods.

Despite recent challenges to his rule, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have held on to power. What factors have made this possible? Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Nijmeh Ali provides answers by mapping the Israeli right wing and its internal conflicts as well as Netanyahu’s political doctrine and practice. 

The majority of suppression of Palestine advocacy in the US targets university students and faculty. Al-Shabaka’s Hatem Bazian traces the historic rise of this advocacy, offering recommendations for how the university, despite attacks against it, can continue to provide and even amplify an environment that fosters critical thinking on Palestine, in turn furthering the struggle for Palestinian rights. 

Settler colonial projects such as Israel seek to control perceptions of reality in order to bind Indigenous and colonized people in a seemingly perpetual state of being. Imagining a future beyond this state is thus a rebellious and radical act. Al-Shabaka’s Yara Hawari explores the need for Palestinian imaginings of radical futures and highlights current examples of such work. 

Al-Shabaka’s Halah Ahmad traces the top Democratic presidential candidates’ positions on Palestine and assesses them relative to their stances on racial justice in the US, arguing that while foreign policy has rarely differentiated US presidential candidates, in this election it is a key litmus test for a candidate’s sincerity vis-à-vis their commitment to civil and human rights. 

Last September, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas renewed his pledge to hold parliamentary elections in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. Regardless of whether the polls take place, Al-Shabaka Senior Palestine Policy Fellow Yara Hawari argues that Palestinians must embark on a democratic process that far surpasses the proposed elections in order to achieve liberation.  

The EU recently announced additional conditions on its aid to Palestinian civil society organizations, namely that they must not deal with individuals or groups designated by the EU as “terrorist.” What effects will this have and what can Palestinians do about it? Al-Shabaka spoke with policy analyst Tariq Dana about these questions and international aid to Palestine more broadly. 

Twenty-five years after signing the Wadi ‘Araba peace agreement, Jordan and Israel are experiencing particularly tense relations. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Oraib Rantawi delves into the reasons behind this turn of events, the implications for Palestinian-Jordanian relations, and what Jordan can do to reduce its dependence on Israel. 

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has perhaps never been so disconnected from Palestinian society. Al-Shabaka policy analyst Dana El Kurd examines how international involvement has helped shore up this disconnect by rendering the PA progressively repressive, and suggests steps for the PA as well as Palestinian civil society to take in order to change the status quo.