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.
Bartering Palestine for Research
All eyes are focused on the bloodshed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, but the civil war in Syria continues to rage, making Shatila Refugee Camp in Lebanon – yet again – a destination for Palestinians and others fleeing conflict. Such collective tragedies have made Shatila one of the most heavily researched communities in the world. Policy Member Mayssun Succarie examines the negative impact that over-research has had and concludes that sometimes conducting no new research is the most appropriate response.
Palestinian Farmers: A Last Stronghold of Resistance
Israel’s brutal crackdowns on Palestinians living under its occupation dominate the news, but other longer-term trends are equally worrying. The Palestinian Authority is confiscating more and more land from Palestinian farmers in order to build industrial zones, which strips farmers of their right to grow their own food and further increases Palestinian dependency on Israel. Al-Shabaka Guest Author Vivien Sansour and Al-Shabaka Program Director Alaa Tartir argue that sustained community efforts are needed to preserve one of the most important elements of resistance that Palestinians have.
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.
From Our Facebook Balconies, the Dark Heart of Al-Yarmuk
The Syrian civil war has seen some 270,000 Palestinians flee their homes, many for multiple times. The discrimination they face as they seek refuge has had little attention. From a Syrian-Palestinian perspective, Al-Shabaka Policy Member Ahmad Diab draws on the siege of Al-Yarmuk as a new symbol of Palestinian suffering and maps the profound effects this conflict has had on the entire Syrian Palestinian community.
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.
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.
