Category: Palestinians

Palestinians

Will Jordan and Egypt Play a Greater Role in Palestinian Affairs in 2013?

Michael Sharnoff

 

jp2Published in Sharnoff’s Global Views on Dec. 31, 2012.

Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians has remained elusive. The politically correct paradigm proffered by the international community including Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the United States has been two states, two peoples: an independent Palestinian state including the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel. Continue reading “Will Jordan and Egypt Play a Greater Role in Palestinian Affairs in 2013?” →

Palestinians

Palestinian Self-Immolation

Michael Sharnoff

Al-Ahram reports that a Gazan teen unable to find employment and care for his family set himself on fire in Gaza’s main hospital last Thursday. He succumbed to his wounds Sunday evening. The teen’s father said he had appealed to the Hamas government in Gaza and the West Bank Palestinian Authority to find work, but received no response. Continue reading “Palestinian Self-Immolation” →

Israel, Palestinians

Weekend Thinking: Israelis and Palestinians

Michael Sharnoff

The failure to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have produced a surge of commentary among analysts and pundits advocating various alternatives.  The primary scenarios proffered include maintaining the status quo and refusing to compromise, a one-state bi-national option, a two-state option in which a Palestinian state lives next to Israel, and a three-state option in which the West Bank and Gaza Strip each with their separate governments form distinct states, perhaps uniting with Jordan and Egypt, respectively. Continue reading “Weekend Thinking: Israelis and Palestinians” →

Palestinians

Give Palestinian Third Parties a Chance

Michael Sharnoff

Published in the Daily Beast on July 26, 2012.

No, Dani Dayan, the status quo in the West Bank cannot continue.

I’ll leave it to other commentators to explain why this is the case on the Israeli side.  But when it comes to the Palestinian side, it’s time to consider alternatives to Fatah and Hamas—they’re not all we’ve got.

Hamas and Fatah aren’t making Obama’s promise of democratic transition in the Arab world a reality, it might be time for all of us—Palestinians, Israelis, and Americans—to consider third party alternatives. Continue reading “Give Palestinian Third Parties a Chance” →

Palestinians

Article Review

Michael Sharnoff

Published in American Diplomacy on June 20, 2012.

Palestinian Attitudes Toward Israel
by Dr. Michael Sharnoff
http://www.fpri.org/enotes/2012/201205.sharnoff.palestinian-attitudes-israel.html
Reviewed by Norvell B DeAtkine

The writer, a recent graduate of King’s College, London, writing for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, surveys Palestinian attitudes from the standpoint of the secularists, Hamas, Fatah, and the general public toward the state of Israel. In general he finds that Palestinians of all categories embrace “popular, non-violent resistance.” That attitude leads to demonstrations, hunger strikes, boycotts, and sanctions. Sharnoff posits that billionaire Munib al-Masri speaks for the secularists in advocating a peace with Israel in return for a state in the West Bank and Jerusalem as its capitol. Interviewing a respected moderate Islamist and professor at a Palestinian university, the writer was told that the ‘Arab Spring” has emboldened Islamist radicals and that American inaction in promoting moderate Islamists constituted a missed opportunity. Moreover, in spite of corruption and authoritarianism, which characterizes the Palestinian leadership, any uprising among the Palestinians will be directed at Israel, not the Palestinian leadership. Continue reading “Article Review” →

Palestinians

Palestinian Attitudes Toward Israel

Michael Sharnoff

Published in the Middle East Media Monitor, an Foreign Policy Research Institute E-Note series, on May 23, 2012.

As the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East enter into their second year, how have these unprecedented events impacted Palestinian attitudes toward Israel? Will Palestinians be emboldened to mimic these revolts and collectively decide to embark on another intifada? Will they continue to pursue unilateral efforts to declare statehood in the United Nations? Or will they use a diplomatic approach and reach a negotiated settlement with Israel?

A survey of attitudes from secularists, Hamas, Fatah and the general public suggests that Palestinians will continue to embrace what they describe as “popular, nonviolent resistance” to gain concessions. These tactics include seeking unilateral recognition at the UN, staging small protests in Arab villages near the controversial security barrier, organizing demonstrations like the Global March to Jerusalem, and utilizing boycotts, sanctions and divestiture programs as well as hunger strikes by prisoners.[1] Continue reading “Palestinian Attitudes Toward Israel” →

Palestinians

Confronting Palestinian Reactions to Failed Talks With Israel

Michael Sharnoff

Published in the Huffington Post on Jan. 12, 2012.

In the autumn of 2011, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas embarked on a controversial diplomatic offensive to have the United Nations recognize the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. While Abbas asserts that this strategy is neither intended to delegitimize nor embarrass Israel, the United States, Israel and most European nations view it as a mechanism to bypass direct talks with Israel. These countries have insisted that only direct negotiations between the two parties can achieve a political settlement. On November 11, the 15-member Security Council failed to reach a consensus and Abbas’ bid remains stalled. Continue reading “Confronting Palestinian Reactions to Failed Talks With Israel” →