Permission To Narrate

In an unusual move, and after years of neglect, American and European delegations and development agencies have recently been visiting East Jerusalem and showing an increased interest in ‘doing something’ about its deteriorating socioeconomic conditions. Moreover, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is, after a prolonged silence, working on updating the Strategic Multi-Sector Development Plan for East Jerusalem 2011-2013.

This report tells the history of the process of fragmentation imposed on Palestinian rural land in the West Bank through a case study of three villages in the Nablus District – ‘Azmut, Deir al-Hatab and Salem. What these communities have experienced since 1980, when Israel established the Elon Moreh nearby, is but one illustration of broader developments taking place throughout the West Bank. Their story is similar to that of hundreds of Palestinian communities on whose lands Israeli settlements were established.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has defied the peacemaking efforts of successive U.S. presidential administrations. As the incoming Trump administration considers how it will attempt to resolve the conflict, this chapter presents three possible approaches to negotiations—a provocative, high-risk ‘top-down’ approach that would focus on the contested status of Jerusalem; a more measured ‘bottom-up’ approach that would work with regional players to change the situation on the ground; and a summit-driven ‘outside-in’ approach that would establish internationally supported terms of reference for negotiating a two-state solution. All three options are likely to have critical political consequences for the Trump administration, but if there is a desire to break the stalemate of distrust in the Middle East, their potential merits should be considered.

The Palestinian Authority has no jurisdiction there: The camp is, according to Israeli law, inside Israel, and the people who live there are Jerusalem residents, but they are refugees in their own city. Residents pay taxes to Israel, but the camp is barely serviced. There is very little legally supplied water, a scarcely functioning sewage system, essentially no garbage pickup, no road building, no mail service (the streets don’t even have names, much less addresses), virtually no infrastructure of any kind.

By Mohamed Mohamed

Governor Cuomo’s contradictory positions may seem illogical, but they are in fact quite rational. The governor is a Democrat and self-proclaimed progressive, but above all, he is a shrewd and ambitious career politician.

By Jada Bullen and Marie Helmy

In the wake of Trump’s victory, the world waits with trepidation for what 2017 will bring to U.S. domestic and foreign policy. The future is uncertain for Palestinians and Black Americans, whose parallel struggles have become increasingly highlighted in the last few years.

ATLANTA — We do not yet know the policy of the next administration toward Israel and Palestine, but we do know the policy of this administration. It has been President Obama’s aim to support a negotiated end to the conflict based on two states, living side by side in peace. That prospect is now in grave doubt. I am convinced that the United States can still shape the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before a change in presidents, but time is very short. The simple but vital step this administration must take before its term expires on Jan. 20 is to grant American diplomatic recognition to the state of Palestine, as 137 countries have already done, and help it achieve full United Nations membership.

Shock and dismay prevailed among the leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA) following Donald Trump’s election. During the US election campaign, most of the Palestinian official spokespeople claimed that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were equally bad news for Palestinian interests. Yet beyond these claims there was a clear preference for Secretary Clinton, out of belief that she could engage with the international community on a two-state solution process. Trump’s election victory shuttered any hope of such prospects.