Israel is marshaling pro-Israel forces in Europe as well as in the US against the European Union’s recently issued guidelines on labeling some of its settlement products, for fear that this will lead to stronger measures. Al-Shabaka’s Nur Arafeh, Samia al-Botmeh and Leila Farsakh debunk Israel’s arguments both as regards the impact on the Palestinian economy as well as on Palestinian workers.

World attention has been focusing on the Palestinian revolt against Israel’s military occupation. Meanwhile, plans were reportedly still going ahead for an Israeli release of frequencies required for long-awaited 3G and even 4G systems and services. Al-Shabaka analysts Nur Arafeh, Wassim Abdullah, and Sam Bahour provide an incisive account of Israeli obstacles to the Palestinian sector’s development that have led to hundreds of millions in direct losses and lost opportunities.

As attention turns to Israel’s crackdown on the Palestinians under its occupation and amongst its own citizens, Palestinian refugees from Syria remain denied rights granted to other refugees. Al-Shabaka analysts Abu Moghli, Bitarie and Gabiam review the discriminatory legal framework and identify practical steps that could ensure these refugees’ safety and respect their human rights.

81% of the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation rank the problem of corruption second only to the occupation itself. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Tariq Dana analyzes the systems and actors involved, arguing that corruption is a structural problem with longstanding political roots that cannot be tackled through adopting codes of conduct and other technical solutions.

Palestinian women have one of the lowest rates of labor force participation in the world -despite higher primary and secondary enrolment ratios than males in the entire Middle East and North Africa. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Samia Al-Botmeh examines the trends and proposes policies that move beyond the supply side to focus on demand for women’s labor.

Palestine should confer citizenship on its stateless refugees and enter into bilateral agreements with other states to improve their situation – as citizens - wherever they reside. This proposal has pitfalls but it may be a powerful way to create facts on the road to freedom and rights.

Technical solutions shorn of political context have contributed to a failed state in Palestine and harmed the collective Palestinian struggle for freedom, transforming the Palestinian Authority into an NGO-like body.

• Short of Palestine withdrawing its declaration or accession, it has no power to reverse the move - but a UN Security Council Chapter VII resolution can defer an investigation or prosecution for a renewable period of 12 months.

• A Palestine referral under Article 14 would not limit the type of cases or evidence considered by the Office and is highly unlikely to direct the Prosecutor’s attention away from Palestinian violations.

• Israel’s track record since Operation Cast Lead of prosecuting only four soldiers, and issuing the harshest sentence for a case of credit card theft, would almost certainly be deemed as insufficient to foreclose ICC jurisdiction.

• Israeli settlements are widely viewed as being among the safest cases for prosecution in the Israeli-Palestinian situation.

• A Palestinian strategy to broaden the spectrum of international and inter-state accountability could ease the Prosecutor’s political burden. The Palestinian bid to ratify international treaties has opened up a range of mechanisms and processes.

• The ICC’s examination of Israel’s conduct could facilitate third party states, companies, and international organizations to review their engagements with Israeli entities and ensure that they do not give legal effect to unlawful Israeli conduct.

• Palestine needs to couple a legal strategy, at the ICC and beyond, with key housekeeping measures that show its commitment to international law. Given that the path to ICC investigations is expected to be long and tumultuous, it will be crucial to garner the support of friendly states for independent ICC action.

* Palestinians have a right to request international aid, and donors have an obligation to provide it.

* The manner in which this aid has been provided may actually facilitate violations of Palestinian rights under international humanitarian law.

* A donor framework of Israeli “exceptionalism,” a policy of non-confrontation, and an absence of accountability has become the norm.

* Legal experts should be consulted to determine the threshold for possible violations.

* States have an obligation to ensure that the arms and ammunition they supply are not used to commit violations.

* Legal limitations mean that truth commissions or public enquiries are needed at present to redress aid complicity.

* The burgeoning Palestinian Authority (PA) security sector in the West Bank has from the start served Israel as an instrument of control and pacification of the Palestinian population.

* The current security paradigm was established first through the Oslo Accords and then enshrined in the Road Map. Without “security” the rhetoric held, the PA could not be trusted as government of an independent state.

* Repression under the PA may be fast leading to a Palestinian police state.

* With the unity government moving into Gaza, it is even more necessary to reform security sector “reform.” Without tackling this sector, it will be impossible to achieve Palestinian human rights.