The Joint List in Israel’s Elections: Palestinians in from the Cold?
The Joint List largely represents the Palestinian citizens of Israel. Yet will it really challenge their second-class status and prevent the erosion of the rights they still have? Al-Shabaka analysts Diana Buttu, As’ad Ghanem, and Nijmeh Ali differ as they address the problems and potential of the Joint List.
Hamas: Three Tough Hurdles in 2015
Hamas’s putative rapprochement with Iran scratches the surface of the problems facing the Islamic movement. Al-Shabaka Policy Member Bilal Shobaki zeroes in on three of Hamas’ major challenges: definitively dealing with a Charter from which it has distanced itself; reviving its base in the West Bank; and restoring it regional alliances.
In Jerusalem, “Religious War” Is Used to Cloak Colonialism
Recent clashes between Israeli settlers and Jerusalemite Palestinians have been billed as a religious war but they are the outcome of Israel’s plans to Judaize the city and empty it of its Palestinian inhabitants in its colonization of the occupied Palestinian territory. Al-Shabaka Policy Member Nur Arafeh analyzes the tools Israel is using and the Palestinian leadership vacuum that has left the defenseless population to fend for itself.
Beyond the Apartheid Analogy: Time to Reframe Our Palestinian Struggle
The frequent comparisons of Israel with Apartheid South Africa may obscure more fundamental questions Palestinians should be asking. From her present base in today’s South Africa, where “whiteness” still lives on the back of “blackness”, Al-Shabaka Policy Member Irene Calis argues that the post-Apartheid moment should alert Palestinians to take stock and reframe both the form of their campaigns as well as the terms of any proposed resolution.
Under Siege: Remembering Leningrad, Surviving Gaza
Jews and others under Leningrad’s 2.5-year siege ate wallpaper for its potato starch glue. In Gaza’s siege with no end, Palestinians die quickly under Israel’s bombs or slowly under its tight controls on food, services and even books. Al-Shabaka Policy Member Ayah Bashir and Guest Author Esther Rappaport communicate the impact of the siege of Gaza in a unique format, a must-read for both policy-maker and concerned public.
PLO/Palestine: Time to Stop Buying Time
The Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestine are constantly seeking new approaches to stop Israeli violations and secure Palestinian rights. But the tools already exist: They just aren’t being used to best effect, as Al-Shabaka Executive Director Nadia Hijab and Policy Advisor Diana Buttu point out. With Jerusalem burning, Gaza assaulted and under siege, and the West Bank remorselessly colonized, there is no more time to waste.
After Gaza, What Price Palestine’s Security Sector?
The Palestinian Authority’s security sector has grown faster than any other part of the government, potentially putting Palestine on track to a police state. With the unity government moving into Gaza after Israel’s terrible 51-day assault, Al-Shabaka Policy Member Sabrien Amrov and Program Director Alaa Tartir call for the urgent need to reform the donor-driven “reform” of a sector that only serves Israel’s colonization project. Read the policy brief or the executive summary.
What Forces Shape the Palestinians of Gaza?
Despite the horrific death and destruction that Israel visited upon Gaza, it was not able to achieve its aims, due in part to a unified stand by Palestinian resistance factions. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Randa Farah draws parallels to a 13th century battle in examining the forces, past and present, that have shaped the Palestinians of Gaza and sets the Palestinian cause in its regional context.
Drying Palestine: Israel’s Systemic Water War
Israel’s targeting of water infrastructure during the latest Gaza onslaught has caught global attention, but much less noticed is the systemic water war that has been waged on Palestinian populations for decades. Tracing its three different battlefronts, Al-Shabaka Member and environmental researcher Muna Dajani looks at how military strikes, security programs, and permit systems have been destroying Palestinian water infrastructure and local resource-management systems, and calls for change.
