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.
Oslo: Replacing Liberation with Economic Neo-Colonialism
The neo-liberal policies associated with Oslo have gradually laid waste to the Palestinian struggle for liberation. Advanced by a coalition of transnational development agencies, Israeli occupation actors, and Palestinian capitalists and political elites, this “economic neo-colonization of Palestine,” argues Al-Shabaka guest author Khalil Nakhleh, must be met with a “People-Centered Liberationist Development” strategy that develops and empowers indigenous resources aimed at securing all Palestinian rights.
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.
NGOs vs. Grassroots Movements: A False Dichotomy
Are people’s movements intrinsically superior to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or is there a role for different types of organizations in the Palestinian civil society spectrum? Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Fateh Azzam reviews some of the recent critiques of NGOs in favor of popular movements. He discusses the issues of representation, agendas, and funding, among others, and argues that there is room for all.
The Palestinian Capitalists That Have Gone Too Far
A powerful group of Palestinian capitalists is thriving in the occupied Palestinian territory even as most of the population is struggling to survive. Too often, they owe their wealth to economic collaboration with Israel. Drawing on recent research, Al-Shabaka Policy Member Tariq Dana analyzes the ways in which these “crony capitalists” influence policy, use indebtedness for social control, and normalize the occupation. Click below for the full brief or read the executive summary.
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.
Activating Palestine’s UNESCO Membership
Palestinian leaders have not activated Palestine’s UNESCO membership despite the costly battle to join and even though it could help rebalance the skewed Israeli-Palestinian power dynamic. Al-Shabaka Guest Author Valentina Azarov and Policy Member Nidal Sliman review the assaults on Palestinian cultural heritage and set out the significant practical advantages of UNESCO membership, including reasserting sovereignty over Palestinian land and sea and obliging third states to hold Israel accountable.
