Policy Labs

The visible absence of the Palestinian Liberation Organization from the ongoing Unity Intifada has led many to question the organization’s legitimacy and relevance. Do Palestinians still need the PLO? If so, why? These questions come as Al-Shabaka publishes a critical study, “Reviving a Palestinian Power: The Diaspora and the Diplomatic Corps,” conducted by four of…

The dramatic events that have taken place the last few weeks in Gaza, Jerusalem, and across historic Palestine have been unfolding as Palestinians commemorate the 74th year of the Nakba on May 15. How do the recent assaults on Palestinians in Jerusalem, Gaza, and across historic Palestine reflect the structural realities of Israel’s military occupation…

As the Palestinian general elections fast approach, many are wondering whether new leadership would create opportunities for self-determined Palestinian economic development. But with Israel’s ongoing siege, occupation, and fragmentation of Palestinians, and the COVID-19 pandemic crippling the Palestinian leadership’s ability to meet people’s most basic needs, can Palestinians really anticipate significant changes to their daily…

Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are bracing for the first general elections to take place in 15 years, while the Palestinian Authority seeks to renew its legitimacy amid shifting regional and global realities. Who are the leaders and political bodies Palestinians will be voting for? How are these elections affected by regional and…

The role of tourism in advancing Israel's settler colonial project dates back to the arrival of Zionists in Palestine. Today, it is most clearly articulated through religious tours that legitimize the Israeli regime's continued theft of Palestinian land and oppression of the Palestinian people. How does religious tourism in Palestine serve the Israeli regime's colonial…

Over the past four years, the Trump administration has enacted major long-term changes to US policy vis-à-vis Palestine. What possibilities lie ahead for the next administration to either expand or reverse this trajectory, and how can Palestinians leverage their power to influence future decision-making? With US elections looming, Al-Shabaka analysts Hatem Bazian and Nadia Hijab join host Nur Arafeh to weigh in on these questions and more in this policy lab.

Have Arab states abandoned the Palestinian people? In this policy lab, Al-Shabaka analysts Tareq Baconi and Ibrahim Fraihat join host Nur Arafeh to weigh in on the historical understanding of normalization, implications of the UAE-Israel agreement and other normalization developments across the region, and ways forward for Palestinians in light of these changing dynamics.

From home demolitions to the Gaza blockade to the withholding of Palestinian bodies, Israel wields collective punishment tactics to subjugate and suppress the Palestinian population. In this policy lab, Al-Shabaka analysts Nada Awad and Issam Younis join host Nur Arafeh to discuss the toll of this strategy on the Palestinian people and how it fits into Israel's broader system of apartheid.

Netanyahu has pledged to begin annexing parts of the West Bank as soon as next month. What are the implications of such a move, and what can be learned from Israel’s previous annexations of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights? In this policy lab, Yara Hawari and Rania Muhareb join host Nur Arafeh to weigh in…

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Palestine brings back to focus central questions surrounding the resilience of Palestinian Authority leadership and the efficiency of its governance in times of crisis. In this policy lab, Al-Shabaka analysts Mohammed Al-Khaldi and Fadi Quran join guest host Marwa Fatafta to weigh in on current emergency measures in…