UNRWA in a Time of Crisis: Separating the Red Herrings from Legitimate Shortcomings
UNRWA has recently faced funding cuts and an ethics report detailing alleged abuses by top management. While these events are important to understand UNRWA’s current dilemmas, they do not provide a proper understanding of the Agency’s more fundamental issues. 24376 sheds light on UNRWA’s actual challenges and why its mandate should include durable solutions for Palestine refugees.
Palestinian Opposition to Social Security: Revolution or Devolution?
Through vociferous protest, in June 2019 the Palestinian private sector, laborers, and civil society succeeded in halting the Palestinian Authority’s latest attempt to institute a social security system in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Why did Palestinians, including Palestinian workers, fight against a right that other workers around the world have historically fought for? Guest contributor 24448 explains.
Using Indigeneity in the Struggle for Palestinian Liberation
Indigeneity has re-emerged within the discourse on Palestine and is becoming a facet of political mobilization. But what does this mean in practice and how can indigeneity be harnessed to further Palestinian rights? Al-Shabaka’s 24347 and 24588 examine indigeneity in the context of international law and suggest ways to employ it in the Palestinian quest for liberation.
Donor Perceptions of Palestine: Limits to Aid Effectiveness
Though Western donors have poured billions into the Palestinian economy since the Oslo Accords, the funds have not resulted in development and regional peace. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Jeremy Wildeman examines and compares donor perceptions of Palestine through an assessment of donor reports to comprehend how donors have contributed to this result, and recommends Palestinian sovereignty over the aid process.
Unifying Palestinians Through Education: Lessons from Experience
The higher education system serving Palestinians has contributed to and been impacted by national fragmentation. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Sam Bahour discusses an initiative he spearheaded to establish a Palestinian university in Cyprus, as well as earlier attempts to create Palestinian institutions of higher learning, and concludes with recommendations for those who might take up similar projects in the future.
Palestine, International Law, and a Radically Just Future
In her new book, Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine, Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Noura Erakat argues that though law can be used as a tool of domination by states, it can also advance progressive causes, including Palestinian liberation. Al-Shabaka spoke with Erakat about this approach and how it can be deployed to envision a just future.
The Escalation of Israeli Collective Punishment of Palestinians
Israel has wielded collective punishment against the families of alleged Palestinian attackers since the military occupation began in 1967, but measures such as forcible transfer, home demolitions, and economic warfare have increased over the past several years. Al-Shabaka guest contributor 24498 tracks this surge and suggests possibilities for countering Israel’s expanding use of such tactics, which violate international law.
Palestine and the Israel-Saudi Arabia Alliance
Israel’s sale of Pegasus software to Saudi Arabia, which it used to surveille Jamal Khashoggi before his October 2018 murder, brought relations between the two states into the public eye. Al-Shabaka spoke with analyst 24428 about what the Israeli-Saudi alliance means for Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and the Palestinian struggle for rights, and what Palestinians can do to counter it.
What are the Elements of a Strategic Palestinian Narrative and Discourse?
This commentary is part of Al-Shabaka’s Narrative and Discourse Policy Circle, convened in 2018, in which a team of Al-Shabaka policy analysts worked together across borders to tackle the question of whether Palestinians should have a sole, legitimate narrative and, if so, what it should be. For more from this policy circle, see Hazem Jamjoum’s “Reclaiming the […]
