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After a year of enduring relentless violence and devastation, Palestinians stand at a pivotal moment. In this commentary, Yara Hawari reflects on the immense losses for the Palestinian people since October 2023 and the emerging opportunities to work towards a future free of settler colonial oppression. Hawari argues that now is the time for the movement to shift from a reactive stance to one that defines its own priorities. As part of this transition, she outlines three necessary steps: moving beyond a reliance on international law, deepening connections in the Global South, and dedicating resources to exploring radical visions of a liberated future.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces have brutally murdered over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, injured 100,000, and displaced nearly all of the occupied area’s population. In that same time, the Israeli regime has embarked on the largest invasion of the West Bank since the Second Intifada, resulting in over 600 Palestinians killed and 10,900 detained. Israel has likewise expanded its genocidal assault into Lebanon, killing well over 1,000 people and displacing more than one million.
This Focus On highlights how Al-Shabaka has sought to respond to these developments over the past year. From grounding October 7th in the broader context of Israeli settler colonialism, to interrogating Israel's multifaceted war machine, to assessing rapidly evolving regional relations, this compilation of works represents Al-Shabaka's ongoing effort to articulate the Palestinian condition in real time.
UK arms companies have long profited from selling weapons to Israel, with licenses issued from the British government. Since 2008, these exports have totaled an estimated $740 million, continuing even amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Following the Labour Party's July 2024 election victory, which promised alignment with international law, some were cautiously optimistic that an arms embargo would be forthcoming. In September 2024, the British government suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel. Activists and human rights groups argue that this is far too limited. Accordingly, this policy memo details Britain's international legal obligations and potential governmental maneuvers regarding arms sales to Israel.
In this episode, our host Yara Hawari joins hosts of the Makdisi Street podcast Saree, Ussama and Karim Makdisi to discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza, intra Palestinian-Israeli politics and more.
Abdullah Al-Arian joins host Yara Hawari to discuss heightened tensions across the Middle East as the Israeli regime expands its aggression on multiple fronts.
In this roundtable, Al-Shabaka analysts Belal Shobaki, Tariq Kenney-Shawa, and Fathi Nimer offer their insights on the impact of Haniyeh's assassination. They reflect on Hamas's future, the impetus behind the operation, and its wider regional consequences, placing them within the historical context of so-called Israeli diplomacy.
Sara Husseini joins host Yara Hawari to discuss the recent British elections, the role Palestine and the Israeli genocide in Gaza played in the election results, and the challenges facing pro-Palestine activism under the new Labour government.
In this policy memo, Tariq Dana examines the mutually reinforcing interests of the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel that fuel the prospective agreement. He interrogates Saudi's feigned solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and situates the normalization deal within shifting regional dynamics.
Ali, a humanitarian worker from Gaza now in Egypt, joins host Yara Hawari. He speaks on the experience of Palestinians from Gaza in Egypt as they maneuver the different legal, financial, and social hardships of their forced displacement.
On May 17, 2024, the US began operating a temporary floating pier off the coast of Gaza. Since the project’s announcement, many have expressed skepticism towards the pier’s effectiveness and deep concern regarding the US’s long-term plans and the pier’s potential role in serving Israeli objectives.
This commentary examines the pier’s operations and unpacks the many incentives for its development by key geopolitical players. It positions the pier within Israel’s longer-term strategy for Palestine, using the structure as a window into understanding the regime’s broader regional aims. Temporary or not, this commentary contends that the pier must not be viewed as merely a short-term humanitarian effort, but also as a symbol of the US and Israel’s continued imperial and colonial endeavors.
Since the beginning of the Zionist project in Palestine, large efforts have been exerted to paint all resistance to its colonial endeavors as irrational and at odds with progress and modernity. This deliberately manufactured dichotomy between the prosperous and civilized Settler and the regressive and rejectionist Arab standing in the way of progress set the tone for developments between Palestinians and Zionist settlers for decades to come. In this commentary, Al-Shabaka analyst Fathi Nimer explores the nascence of this trope, unpacking its weaponization to deny Palestinians their fundamental rights and demonize their collective aspirations for sovereignty.
Media & Outreach
Tareq Baconi speaks to Democracy Now's Amy Goodman on the impact of Israel's killing of Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar
A year of Israel’s war has only intensified Palestinians’ deep-seated disillusion with their political leadership.
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