Article - Palestine Post-Oslo: Moving to a Just 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 Sam Bahour

Sam Bahour

Sam Bahour resides in Al-Bireh/Ramallah, Palestine. He does business consulting as Applied Information Management (AIM), specializing in business development with a niche focus on the...
More From This Author
Al-Shabaka Nadia Hijab

Nadia Hijab

Nadia Hijab is co-founder and honorary president of Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. She served as Board President from 2010-2021 and as Executive Director between...
More From This Author

Amal Ahmad

Amal Ahmad is a Palestinian economic researcher. Amal interned at the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute in Ramallah before completing a Master’s degree in development...
More From This Author
(2018, September 18)
In this article
View PDF

Latest Analysis

Explore All Analysis
Policy Focus
 Civil Society

Focus On: Global Solidarity with Palestine

As the US and its allies lead a sweeping assault on the global legal order to shield the Israeli regime from accountability for genocide, international outrage has sparked an extraordinary wave of pro-Palestine solidarity and organizing. Millions have taken to the streets in a broad-based protest movement that marks a profound shift in public consciousness. In addition, a growing surge of grassroots initiatives has solidified Palestine as a central pillar in the global struggle for justice. Al-Shabaka’s latest Focus On explores how this solidarity is expanding and being reimagined globally. It highlights both the significant challenges facing the movement amid a vicious crackdown on pro-Palestine activism and the powerful, imaginative strategies that are emerging in resistance. Featuring insights from analysts across advocacy, academia, and policy, this collection examines how such solidarity can be sustained and transformed into a lasting political force.
Article - Introducing Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network
Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network· Oct 6, 2025
Policy Memo
 Politics

China and the Gaza Genocide: A Strategic Distance

This policy memo shows how China’s “biased impartiality,” which privileges the Israeli regime, drives its strategic distancing from the genocide in Gaza. This position is not simply the result of US dominance over Israel-related affairs but a calculated decision to protect China’s long-term interests. By calling for Palestinian unity without exerting pressure on the Israeli government, Beijing shields its ties with the Zionist state under the guise of restraint. In addition, it deflects responsibility for stopping the genocide onto the UN Security Council, casting ceasefire, humanitarian access, and prisoner release as obligations for others in order to absolve itself of direct accountability.
Razan Shawamreh· Sep 16, 2025
Commentary
 Politics

Gaza Uninhabitable: Challenging Colonial Frames of Erasure

The erasure of Indigenous populations lies at the core of settler-colonial narratives. These narratives aim to deny existing geographies, communities, and histories to justify the displacement and replacement of one people by another. The Zionist project is no exception. Among Zionism’s founding myths is the claim that it “made the desert bloom” and that Tel Aviv, its crown jewel, arose from barren sand dunes—an uninhabitable void transformed by pioneering settlers. This framing obscures the fact that the colonial regime initially built Tel Aviv on the outskirts of Yaffa (Jaffa), a thriving Palestinian city with a rich cultural life and a booming orange trade. The “dunes” description projects emptiness and conceals the vibrant agricultural and social life that flourished in the area. By casting the land as uninhabitable until redeemed by settlers, this narrative helped justify dispossession and colonial expansion. This process intensified after 1948, when Tel Aviv absorbed the lands of ethnically cleansed Palestinian villages, including al-Sumayil, Salame, Shaykh Muwannis, and Abu Kabir, and ultimately extended into the city of Yaffa. This same settler-colonial discourse drives the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, where destruction is reframed through the narrative of “uninhabitability.” Gaza is increasingly depicted as a lifeless ruin—a framing that is far from neutral. This commentary contends that “uninhabitable” is a politically charged term that masks culpability, reproduces colonial erasure, and shapes policy and public perception in ways that profoundly affect Palestinian lives and futures. It examines the origins, function, and implications of this discourse within the logic of settler colonialism, calling for a radical shift in language from narratives that obscure violence to those affirming Palestinian presence, history, and sovereignty.
Abdalrahman Kittana· Aug 27, 2025

We’re building a network 
for liberation.

As the only global Palestinian think tank, we’re working hard to respond to rapid developments affecting Palestinians, while remaining committed to shedding light on issues that may otherwise be overlooked.

Meet Our Policy Network & Contributors
Skip to content