Notwithstanding what has been commonly discussed, if the Netanyahu government moves on its plan to annex nearly 30 percent of the West Bank, which will include the Jordan Valley and Israeli settlements, it would precipitate major adversarial repercussions for Israel. To begin with, violence between Israelis and Palestinians will substantially increase and potentially lead to…
As Israel celebrates the 72nd anniversary of its independence, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to simmer as neither side seems to have learned anything from their seven decades-old conflict, and dramatic changes on the ground are readily dismissed. Charges and counter-charges against one another continue unabated as if everything was frozen in time. Israelis and Palestinians…
Netanyahu has served as prime minister for the past 11 years, coinciding with Hamas’ rule over Gaza ever since it usurped power in 2007 from the Palestinian Authority after a brief violent confrontation between the two sides. During this period, Netanyahu has deliberately perpetuated the conflict with Hamas as a means by which to promote…
In my last article, I argued that the ultimate solution to the Palestinian refugees’ right of return rests on resettlement and/or compensation. Indeed, given the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its psychological, political, and demographic dimensions, there is simply no other viable solution. Many Palestinians living in and outside the West Bank and Gaza,…
Any protracted conflict can come to an end under certain circumstances that either evolve over a period of time or are precipitated by one side or the other of the conflicting parties, including: when both sides conclude they can no longer benefit from the continuation of the conflict; when both sides reach a point of…
Artwork by Michael Anderson and Sam Ben-Meir Dear M. Haniyeh and Sinwar; I am writing this letter to you in the wake of the latest confrontation between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli military that tragically resulted in the death of 120 Palestinian youth. I maintain that all this bloody mayhem could have been avoided had…
The ongoing Palestinian demonstration along the Israel-Gaza border has turned out to be, not surprisingly, violent. More than 30 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured. If these demonstrations continue through May 15 (Israel’s 70th anniversary) as planned by Hamas, scores more Palestinians will likely be killed, while increasing the probability of Israel invading Gaza…
The current efforts to reconcile between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas will be doomed to fail just like several previous attempts, unless both sides agree to resolve three major obstacles—a united strategy to find a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the fate of Hamas’ cache of weapons, and the Palestinians’ future government—that have…
I am skeptical of what Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman says as I have judged him only by his actions. For the Palestinians, however, to immediately dismiss what he said in an interview with the Palestinian daily al-Quds—that he supports a two-state solution and would lift Israel’s blockade of Gaza if Hamas relinquishes its military…