Honor the Victims: Avoid Past Mistakes in Reconstructing Gaza
Israel’s third war on Gaza has been the worst. A greater death toll, the compounded effects of a seven-year-long siege, plus unaddressed damage from previous wars will make it far more difficult to reconstruct. Ahead of the international donors conference planned for September, Policy Advisor Omar Shaban sets out the short- and medium-term needs and argues that an end to the siege of Gaza and the participation of Gaza-based stakeholders is crucial if the reconstruction process is to succeed.
Another Casualty of Israel’s Wars: Palestinians’ Right to Education
Palestinian educational institutions, faculty, and students have not been spared the violence of Israel’s military crackdown across the Occupied Palestinian Territory this summer. Campus raids, the confiscation of student property, and airstrike damage to schools are just some examples of Israel’s recent acts of aggression against education.
Israel’s West Bank Operation: Causes & Consequences
Many have speculated that Israel’s largest West Bank offensive since the 2nd Intifada had among its aims the provoking of mass unrest at a time when Palestinians remain fragmented and can be more easily beaten down, notes Policy Advisor Mouin Rabbani. He argues that only a dynamic Palestinian strategy that includes internationalization and the rebuilding of national institutions can arrest and reverse Israel’s impunity in its dealings with the Palestinian people.
What’s Stopping the 3rd Intifada?
Israel’s repression of Palestinians has never been as great as it is today. With no political solution in sight, the possibility of a 3rd Intifada in the Occupied Palestinian Territory seems inevitable. However, Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Jamil Hilal is doubtful and highlights other powerful forces that make a 3rd Intifada unlikely to happen soon.
Palestinian Dead End Highlights the Right of Return
The Palestinian people must hold the Palestinian leadership accountable for the persistent failure of negotiations. As Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Randa Farah argues, the PLO/PA should not replace different forms of resistance to the occupation with unlimited negotiations while finding itself under pressure to actively work to halt other acts of resistance simply for these negotiations to continue – and should remember the centrality of the right of return.
An Illegitimate Leadership Can Sign Away Rights
As Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Mahmoud Abbas heads to Washington to meet U.S. President Barack Obama, Palestinians are fast approaching a critical juncture in the U.S.-driven negotiations with Israel. Al-Shabaka Policy Member Zachariah Sammour warns of the grave implications and urges an immediate and sustained response by all Palestinians, including those in the Diaspora who may stand to lose their historic claim of return to the homeland.
What Role for Law in the Palestinian Struggle for Liberation?
Palestinians are divided over whether law can serve a positive function in their quest for self-determination. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Noura Erakat argues that law’s value is wholly contingent on the broader political framework that gives it meaning. She proposes that Palestinians adopt a complementary approach that includes using the law when justice can be served and political avenues when the law itself entrenches unjust outcomes.
Dis-participation as a Palestinian Strategy?
Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Haidar Eid trenchantly reviews the state of Palestinian political parties on the Right and on the Left. He concludes that the only way to work effectively for Palestinian rights may be to “dis-participate” in these largely illegitimate and ineffective political structures while at the same time working on some of the other alternatives available.
Transforming Our Vision of Palestine Into Reality
A not-so-silent Palestinian majority opposes a peace that brings no justice. This fact underlies Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Sam Bahour’s trenchant reality check for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s push for a two-state solution. Bahour disposes of the myths still shrouding the failed negotiations and calls for economic investment of the right kind on the path to freedom, justice and equality.
