Apartheid: How Useful is the Framework for the Palestinian Struggle?

In our first Palestine Policy Lab session, Al-Shabaka analysts Yara Hawari and Diana Buttu weigh in on the usefulness of the Apartheid framework in the Palestinian context.

Al-Shabaka Yara Hawari

Yara Hawari

Yara Hawari is Al-Shabaka's co-director. She previously served as the Palestine policy fellow and senior analyst. Yara completed her PhD in Middle East Politics at...
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Al-Shabaka Diana Buttu

Diana Buttu

Diana Buttu is a lawyer who previously served as a legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team and was part of the team that assisted...
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Commentary
 Politics

Political Reconstruction: For Gaza and Collective Survival

After more than a year and a half of Israel’s genocidal assault—marked by mass killings, devastation, and profound loss—even speaking of Gaza’s future, let alone its reconstruction, feels impossible. Indeed, the rebuilding of Gaza feels increasingly out of reach amid stalled negotiations, the collapse of the ceasefire agreement, and the relentless bombardment of people and place. Yet in the face of genocide and the looming threat of forced displacement, which the US administration is audaciously promoting as a fait accompli, there is an urgent need to cultivate a critical Palestinian political voice to reclaim Gaza’s future. As non-Palestinian actors push to impose their vision of the “day after,” this commentary by Talal Abu Rokbeh, Mohammed Al-Hafi, and Alaa Tartir argues for centering a Palestinian vision rooted in unity and self-determination. They emphasize that political reconstruction, not just physical rebuilding, is essential for collective survival and national liberation.
Al-Shabaka Talal Ahmad Abu Rokbeh
Al-Shabaka Alaa Tartir
Talal Ahmad Abu Rokbeh,Mohammed Al-Hafi,Alaa Tartir + More· May 6, 2025
Policy Brief
 Civil Society

Project Esther: Suppressing Palestinian Solidarity in the US

One year after Hamas’s Al-Aqsa Flood operation, the Heritage Foundation launched Project Esther—an initiative to suppress Palestinian solidarity under the guise of combating antisemitism. The project relies on censorship, lawfare, and intimidation to dismantle advocacy for Palestinian rights as part of a broader bipartisan crackdown that has onlyintensified under Donald Trump’s administration. This policy brief situates Project Esther within the escalating assault on free speech and dissent, revealing how the repression of Palestine advocacy serves as a litmus test for US democracy. It also outlines strategies to resist this authoritarian turn and ensure that the fight for Palestinian liberation remains central to the broader struggle for justice and equality.
Al-Shabaka Tariq Kenney-Shawa
Tariq Kenney-Shawa· Apr 15, 2025
Roundtable
 Politics

Gaza: Restoring Life Beyond the Physical Structures

In this roundtable discussion, Dena Qaddumi and Jehad Abusalim examine the challenges and complexities of rebuilding Gaza amid the Israeli regime’s ongoing genocidal warfare. They explore the structural obstacles imposed by the continuing Israeli blockade, questioning the feasibility of meaningful reconstruction under settler-colonial occupation.  Analyzing Gaza’s repeated cycles of destruction and rebuilding, Qaddumi and Abusalim expose a long history of foreign intervention, profiteering, and the prioritization of high-visibility projects by international donors—practices that sideline Palestinians and strip them of agency. In contrast, the discussion highlights alternative Palestinian-led reconstruction models that prioritize indigenous knowledge and local needs, ensuring the preservation of Gaza’s identity, heritage, and self-determination.
Al-Shabaka Jehad Abusalim
Dena Qaddumi,Jehad Abusalim· Mar 30, 2025

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