Dr. Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research and one of the most well-respected Palestinian analysts, talks about the strategy of the Gaza return march and what to expect in the coming weeks.  By Meron Rapoport Gaza’s “Great Return March” has the potential to change the Palestinians' strategy. If Hamas can ensure that the protests remain nonviolent and bring 100,000 people to the border to demand freedom and an end to the siege, it will be a nightmare for Israel — and a serious challenge to the status quo. [tmwinpost] This is what Dr. Khalil Shikaki, director…

Trump's Jerusalem declaration provides those who believe in one democratic state across Israel-Palestine a golden opportunity. Now is our chance to promote a vision of peace that could save the future generations from endless bloodshed. By Awad Abdelfattah In declaring Jerusalem the official capital of Israel last month, President Trump dealt a knock-out blow to the illusion of the two-state paradigm, and to the lie of the United States as an honest broker. But Trump’s declaration has also offered new opportunities, providing those who advocate for a democratic, one-state solution in Israel-Palestine the political moment to regroup, unite, and engage in an…

The current Palestinian reconciliation agreement looks like it could actually hold, largely due to regional and internal changes over the past few years. What does this bode for the peace process? A former minister in the Palestinian government explains. By Ashraf al-Ajrami This is not the first time the two large Palestinian political movements, Fatah and Hamas, have come to a reconciliation agreement. There is a great deal of skepticism about whether it will succeed, particularly following the failure of previous reconciliation agreements. However, many feel that this time the two parties are serious, and success is possible. [tmwinpost] This is based…

A new leaked document reveals a new plan to solve the crisis in Gaza: appointing Mohammad Dahlan, once responsible for crushing Hamas and now Mahmoud Abbas' greatest threat, to run the besieged Strip. By Elhanan Miller In the beginning of June, former Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan met with representatives of the Egyptian government and leaders of Hamas in Cairo. The details of the mysterious meeting became clear this week, after a leaked document revealed understandings reached by both sides. According to the document, Dahlan — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' arch nemesis — would be appointed to the prime minister of…

Imagine if Jerusalem had an Israeli mayor from the Likud party, and a Palestinian deputy mayor from Fatah. It's not so far-fetched — the equivalent is already in place in Belfast. By Liel Maghen and Eran Tsidkyahu Walking around Belfast’s various neighborhoods can remind one of the situation in Jerusalem. It’s not just the wall that divides residents of the same city — it’s also the graffiti of Israeli flags on one side of the street and statements in support of Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti on the other. As a group of Jerusalemites, we couldn’t help but compare the reality in…

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley came to Israel to see the conflict up close. It's a shame that when it came to Gaza, she only got one perspective. By Yoni Mendel "We are at the height of an important visit from UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in Israel. We are visiting the towns around Gaza. We both visited the terror tunnels. She saw how the cement we transfer to Gaza for rebuilding homes and building hospitals is used by Hamas to dig tunnels. She saw this with her own eyes. This is very important. [tmwinpost] She visited the…

Hamas new 'Document of Principles' ditches Islamism for frank positions on borders, international law, and human rights. But can the movement maintain unity as it inches closer to the ideas held by its rivals in the PLO? By Menachem Klein (translated by Philip Podolsky) Hamas' recently-revised charter, titled "Document of General Principles and Policies" sees the group go down a path that could eventually result in its fracturing. Once it chose to depart from the simplistic and monolithic guidelines of the Islamic Charter, it had no choice but to acknowledge the ideological differences that drive the movement's leadership apart (as do the inevitable power…

He entered prison for the first time at the age of 10, was one of the founders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and became one of the representatives of Fatah’s security prisoners in Israeli jails. For the last decade, Ramzi Fayyad, who has been working to promote dialogue between representatives of released prisoners, views the the current hunger strikes as an opportunity. Orly Noy spoke to him about prison conditions, the failure to learn from past mistakes, and why the strike could help Palestinians on a global level. The hunger strike organized by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has been going…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is worried that ‘regional peace’ would prompt normalization between Arab states and Israel, while sidelining the two-state solution. Yet increasingly, Palestinian and Arab actors are pursuing a number of alternative solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. By Ella Aphek During Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s last visit to Washington, President Trump introduced a new formula for peace: “One state or two states, whatever both sides like.” Since then, Arab and Palestinian media coverage has acknowledged that not only Israeli policy, but also the failures of Palestinian leadership and ongoing conflicts between Fatah and Hamas, are to blame for the…

With Hamas' new charter about to confirm the organization's commitment to a two-state solution, the unifying demand from the Palestinian leadership for a resolution to the conflict can no longer be denied. The debate over one state, two states, three states or something in between for Israel-Palestine has once again risen to the fore. At times, the one-state solution has been presented as the best, most likely and most realistic option, by figures as diverse as President Trump, Jewish Home head Naftali Bennett and eminent Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua, along with the radical Left (Palestinian and Jewish alike). [tmwinpost] But…

The fact that Israel has no desire to destroy Hamas and re-occupy Gaza means the next round of fighting will end much like the previous ones: a 'strategic tie' with enormous human suffering in both Israel and the Strip. By Doron Matza It is impossible to understand what is happening in the Gaza Strip without understanding the following paradox: the relationship between Israel and Hamas appears as a "zero-sum game," yet both sides cooperate with one another. [tmwinpost] For over a decade, Israel and Hamas have maintained a relationship of both confrontation and reconciliation. From the Israeli point of view, Hamas' presence in Gaza…

At the Fatah Congress this week, Abbas’s followers seem to have affirmed a choice Oslo’s signatories made more than two decades ago: that livelihoods matter more than liberation. Palestinians deserve an alternative to this status quo. In Hisham Sharabi’s 1988 book, Neopatriarchy, the late Palestinian intellectual posits “a theory of distorted change in the Arab world,” one in which “the paternal will is the absolute will.” When it comes to politics, this paternalism is easy to miss, Sharabi argued, because it uses “external trappings,” like elections, to give the illusion of consensus—all while relying on familiar patterns of “ritual and…

The head of the Palestinian security services is counting on Israeli support. Mohammed Dahlan is trying to rally backers in Egypt. From prison, Marwan Barghouti is writing plans for a nonviolent struggle to will the Palestinian public worldwide. The struggle over Abbas’ succession signals a generational change among the Palestinian leadership. By Menachem Klein When Yassser Arafat's health was slowly fading and the Israeli army put him under siege, there was no war of succession taking place around him. This is not because his rule was petrifying. On the contrary, there were always disagreements, and often his colleagues prevented him from…