The current escalation in Jerusalem, particularly on the Temple Mount, requires the design of an overall strategy, not a tactic of merely putting out fires as they occur. The general strategy should facilitate a complex balance between efforts to stabilize the situation and efforts to fashion creative solutions. The stabilization efforts should include stepped up police presence and law enforcement, along with legislative changes to enact more severe punishment. These should be combined with efforts to temper the behavior of Jewish...
On September 1, 2015, Mahmoud Abbas announced his resignation from the PLO Executive Committee, as well as his resignation as Chairman of the Executive Committee of Fatah, the leading organization in the PLO. Abbas’s announcement might lead to the election of a new Executive Committee that will be more comfortable for him, should he nonetheless remain in this position. In any case, the recent developments in the PA and PLO, be they authentic or little more than a political tactic, indicate a deep crisis in the Palestinian arena...
Operation Protective Edge (July 7-August 26, 2014) was the longest and most complex military challenge in a continuing cycle of violence between the State of Israel and Hamas since the organization’s inception in 1987. It is still too early to assess the achievements and the results of the military campaign, which are still not sufficiently clear for either side, and to determine whether Israel succeeded in achieving its primary aim of establishing longterm deterrence. Throughout the campaign, Hamas used all its capabilities,...
There has been much mention in recent weeks of negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a stable long-term agreement. However, it appears that optimistic reports about an imminent agreement between Israel and Hamas are largely the result of the interests of several of the actors related to the contacts between the two sides. For its part, Israel has a strong interest in stabilizing the ceasefire with Hamas. The situation in the Gaza Strip is a time bomb that will ultimately explode, and it is therefore important for Israel to take...
The double game is a tool used by actors in the Palestinian arena allowing vacillation on the pragmatism-ideology axis. However, this double game could result in the loss of control of the situation. In order to reduce that risk, Israel would do well to adopt an integrated policy. Vis-à-vis the PA, Israel must avoid canceling the relief measures it has granted toward better daily life in the West Bank, and strengthen security coordination with the PA. At the same time, it must act decisively in the international arena against the...
The report by the Commission of Inquiry appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine the events surrounding Operation Protective Edge was published on June 22, 2015. As expected, the report criticizes Israel, concluding that its military operations violated the laws of armed conflict and expressing concern regarding the possible commission of war crimes. In comparison to previous reports (such as the Goldstone report, which examined Operation Cast Lead), the new report is carefully worded. Yet despite the commission’s attempt...
Since the war in the summer of 2014 between Israel and Hamas and its dire humanitarian and economic impact on the Gaza Strip, there has been much momentum to promote reconstruction of the area’s civilian and economic infrastructures. Moreover, reconstruction, particularly against the backdrop of Hamas’ relative weakness, is increasingly thought by Western actors relevant to the political process as possible leverage for a long term truce between Hamas and Israel, and hence a means to secure calm in the Israeli-Palestinian arena...
The ongoing humanitarian distress in the Gaza Strip may spark processes of escalation and deterioration that result in another round of conflict between Hamas and Israel. Clearly, therefore, Israel has an interest in hastening the reconstruction of Gaza, but Israel will not be able to lead the reconstruction project by itself. Moving the project forward requires the PA’s involvement, and Egyptian support is also necessary, joined by a leading role for Saudi Arabia and the involvement of other countries in the region. This amounts to...
Recent statements by President Obama on the Israeli-Palestinian political process include a number of interesting and even new aspects. First, the President demonstrated a clear intention to maintain a balanced approach toward Israel and the Palestinians. Second, his comments reflected his inclination to draw away from his commitment to achieve a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian agreement – a goal he had embraced since his entry into office. Rather, he expressed clear support for measured and limited steps, mainly of an economic...
Hamas currently faces difficult challenges. First, it must advance the faltering, slow reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and raise the local standard of living. Second, it must improve its status vis-à-vis the leadership of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority and narrow the divisive split between them. Third, it endeavors to maintain its military infrastructure, for use in a next round of conflict with Israel. At the same time, Hamas must contend with Salafi jihad groups in an escalating struggle. Finally, it must maneuver politically...
Despite the heavy price paid by Hamas in Operation Protective Edge, it is not wasting any time preparing for the next war. For the organization, war against Israel is a tool for strategic change to entrench its rule in the Gaza Strip and establish itself as a key player in the Israeli-Palestinian arena and surpass the power base of the PA, headed by Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas. In order for Israel to postpone the next conflict with Hamas for as long as possible, two main efforts are necessary. One is to prevent the organization’s arming...
Recent weeks have seen an escalation in the conflict in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and the Salafi jihad groups that support the Islamic State organization. Israel clearly has much interest in the conflict, especially given the possibility that an Islamic State infrastructure or a satellite of the group backed by al-Baghdadi could be established in Gaza. Any development in this direction is liable to translate into activity against Israel. It is possible that in the framework of the effort to halt the expansion of the Islamic...
