Imposing Peace: Trump and the Palestinians
What does Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital mean for Palestine and the Palestinians? In a new commentary, Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Osamah Khalil traces seven decades of US policy that laid the ground for this move.
After Trump’s Jerusalem H-Bomb: Weighing Options for Palestinians
Israel is intent on legalizing its occupation of the Palestinian Territory and US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is key to its plans. Yet, as Al-Shabaka Executive Director Nadia Hijab argues, longer-term trends could undermine Israel’s designs and Palestinians must regroup and reinforce these trends so as to secure their rights.
How Can Palestinian Reconciliation Efforts Save the National Project?
The statement signed by Palestinian factions in Cairo last week was not a sign of strength and promise, but instead demonstrates the weakness of the Palestinian movement, writes Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst 24582. He analyzes the factors hindering national unity, including Israeli interests, and proposes ways Palestinians can reach consensus and protect their national project.
Don’t Historicize the Balfour Declaration: The Past is Still the Palestinians’ Present
In the wake of the British elections, Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst 24588 examines how the newfound weakness of the Conservative Party provides Palestinians with an opportunity to use the upcoming centennial of the Balfour Declaration to address Britain’s century of ill-treatment toward the Palestinians, and offers recommendations regarding the kind of apology Palestinians should demand from the UK.
Tracking the Trends of the Palestinian Cause Since 1967
On the 50th anniversary of the 1967 War, Al-Shabaka’s Nadia Hijab and Mouin Rabbani take stock of the Palestinian cause from the eve of the war to today. They observe that the Palestinian people’s situation has almost come full circle but also note the obstacles to Israel’s attempts to snuff out Palestinian self-determination.
Researching Palestinian Refugees: Who Sets the Agenda?
Research on Palestinian refugees overwhelmingly takes place in camps. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst 24370 critiques this trend, tracing the ways in which such research is based on unequal power relations, a hegemony of European knowledge, and “Westernized” universities that ensure its production. She concludes with recommendations for how researchers can begin to address this intellectual pitfall.
Talking Palestine: What Frame of Analysis? Which Goals and Messages?
Palestinians are mired in a one or two-state debate that leapfrogs the need for a process of decolonization and reparations, argue Al-Shabaka Policy Analysts Nadia Hijab and Ingrid Jaradat Gassner. The authors compare different frameworks of analysis and conclude the anti-apartheid framework is most strategic in furthering Palestinian goals in the absence of a near-term political settlement.
Whose “Ethnic Cleansing?”: Israel’s Appropriation of the Palestinian Narrative
Benjamin Netanyahu recently claimed that the Palestinian demand to dismantle illegal Israeli settlements constitutes “ethnic cleansing” against settlers. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst 24403 argues that such rhetoric is part of an Israeli strategy of appropriating a narrative of victimhood to garner public support, and recommends ways Palestinians can counter this tactic to further their quest for rights.
Do Not Let Go of the Green Line: It Is Israel’s Achilles Heel
As Israeli right-wing leaders push to illegally annex occupied Palestinian territory, Al-Shabaka Executive Director Nadia Hijab argues that the Green Line is a powerful tool to hold Israel accountable for its multiple violations of Palestinian human rights. For Europe especially the Israeli moves threaten the global order in a way that goes far beyond Palestine.
