“Who are You?”: The PLO and the Limits of Representation
Is the Palestine Liberation Organization still the “sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people”? In this thought provoking policy brief, Al-Shabaka policy advisor Osamah Khalil argues that attempts to reform the organization will not make it more representative or accountable, but will instead save a leadership that has lost its legitimacy. He asserts that a new representative body must be built in order to achieve Palestinian rights.
Unfreezing the Right of Return: First Stop, Gaza
For decades, Palestinian victims of Israel’s forced displacement policies in the Gaza Strip have been seeking redress. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Munir Nuseibah argues that the authorities in Gaza, Ramallah and Egypt have a legal obligation to immediately facilitate the return of those who want to do so, without in any way letting Israel off the hook. He describes how it can be done, and addresses the political and practical pitfalls.
Palestinians Imposing Agenda on Abbas
As Mahmoud Abbas heads to the United Nations to secure non-member state status for Palestine, he faces a strong and growing movement among Palestinian civil society activists within and outside the occupied Palestinian territory to reframe the Palestinian struggle as fighting against an apartheid Israeli regime and for inalienable Palestinian rights – and not for a state per se. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Leila Farsakh discusses Abbas’ attempts to placate this movement while retaining control of his political program.
Persistent Failure: World Bank Policies for the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The recent World Bank growth report frankly concludes that the Palestinian economy is fragile and dependent on foreign aid: No surprises there. Far more surprising – not to say shocking – are the Bank’s irrelevant and sometimes harmful recommendations, as Al-Shabaka Program Director Alaa Tartir and Guest Author Jeremy Wildeman reveal in this compelling analysis. The Bank’s prescriptions are all the more worrying given the influence it exercises over the donor community’s approach to Palestinian development.
“Oil. Religion. Occupation. … A Combustible Mix.”
Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Victor Kattan secured the release of new documents under the United Kingdom’s Freedom of Information Act. One revelation is that Israel may already be exploiting oil in the occupied Palestinian territories. As one official noted, this will make it even harder for Britain to justify aid for a land that could be self-reliant if it were free – further evidence of the need to push for an end to Israel’s occupation not pay for it.
Israel’s Nukes Derail U.S. Nonproliferation Goals
According to U.S. and Israeli intelligence, Iran is not building nuclear weapons, but cracking down on the country is a top U.S. policy goal. By contrast, Israel’s longstanding nuclear weapons program is rarely mentioned. In this policy brief produced in collaboration with American Muslims for Palistine, Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Victor Kattan argues that if the U.S. is really serious about nuclear nonproliferation it must also tackle Israel’s massive nuclear arsenal.
Farming Palestine for Freedom
For Palestinians, agriculture is more than a source of income or an economic category in budgets and plans. It is tied to the people’s history, identity, and self-expression, and drives the struggle against Israel’s Separation Wall. In this brief, Lebanese activist, author, and agronomist Rami Zurayk joins Al-Shabaka Policy Advisors Samer Abdelnour and Alaa Tartir to tackle the almost spiritual significance of the land to the Palestinians and the deliberate Israeli efforts to break the link between farmers and their crops. Click below for the full brief or read the executive summary.
The Gas Fields off Gaza: A Gift or a Curse?
The Egyptian-Israeli gas deal has come unstuck, partly due to the artificially low price Israel was paying for it. Will this help the Palestinians, whose gas fields off the coast of Gaza remain undeveloped and hostage to Israeli demands to be sold at ludicrously low prices?
Trapped by Denial of Rights, Illusion of Statehood: The Case of the Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon
The bid by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) / Palestinian Authority (PA) to join the United Nations as a member state has complicated the already precarious status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. In this policy brief, Jaber Suleiman addresses the way in which Palestinian refugees are facing the double-edged challenge of denial of their rights and the illusion of statehood. He also discusses responses by the Palestinian community in Lebanon and in particular by civil society.
