The escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation that coincided with the war between Israel and Hizbollah heightened the perceived threat to Israel inherent in the regional context, and in particular, the association between the arenas powered by Islamic forces. Indeed, for several weeks Israel was involved in direct confrontations both with the Lebanese Hizbollah and with Palestinian militant factions. Prominent among them were those that viewed the struggle against Israel as part of the drive toward regional Islamatization....
The Hamas takeover in Gaza is a dramatic event that has ramifications for Israeli-Palestinian relations, as well as regional significance. The forceful takeover by an Islamic movement of an Arab political entity generates repercussions and shockwaves in the Arab world. The question that now confronts various players “Israel, the Arab world and the international community“ is how to deal with this new situation. Does the situation contain only risks, or are there also opportunities?
The defeat of the Palestinian Authority’s security agencies (manned by Fatah) at the hands of the military wing of Hamas has accelerated change in the domestic Palestinian balance of forces that began during the first intifada. The leadership of Hamas, which was formed from the Muslims Brotherhood’s social and educational infrastructure in Gaza, declared from the outset that it aimed to be an alternative to the traditional leadership of Palestinian national movement. Fatah still enjoys some popular support in Gaza. In the...
Following the outbreak of the latest round of fighting between Fatah and Hamas, Hamas has taken complete control of Gaza and Fatah’s presence as a functioning movement has virtually disappeared. In response, Fatah has launched a wave of arrests of Hamas activists in the West Bank and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has declared a state of emergency, dismantled the National Unity Government and nominated a new government of Fatah-associated technocrats headed by Salam Fayyad.
At the Israeli cabinet meeting on May 13, the primary topic of discussion was the need to expand military operations in Gaza in light of the ongoing Qassam rocket fire and the increasing strength of armed groups in the Gaza Strip. The cabinet meeting ended with a decision to step up preventive actions against Qassam fire, including targeted killings and the entry of small forces into territories near the border. No decision was made to undertake wide scale land operations in the Gaza Strip, as recommended by some elements in...
The Arab Summit that convened in Riyadh on March 28 2007 reaffirmed the “Arab peace initiative” originally adopted by the Arab League in 2002. It calls for Arab-Israeli peace based on Israeli withdrawal from the territories captured in 1967, a just and agreed solution to the refugee problem based on UN General Assembly Resolution 194, and the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. Principled differences between Israel and Arab League members over some of the elements in the proposed...
The swearing in of the Palestinian unity government on March 17, 2007 raised great hopes in the Palestinian street and earned widespread public support. The European Union and the United States have decided for the interim to maintain the economic boycott of the Palestinian government and refrain from contributing to its budget directly, as long as it fails to meet the conditions laid down by the Quartet (recognition of Israel, commitment to non-violence, and acceptance of agreements ratified previously by the PLO). At the...
On February 19, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) met in Jerusalem. The meeting was actually planned several weeks ago in keeping with President Bush’s promise, made during his speech about the situation in Iraq, to step up American involvement in the peace process. But the timing – after Hamas and Fatah had signed the Mecca Agreement on a Palestinian national unity government – complicated the situation for all parties and created...
On February 8, Saudi-sponsored negotiations in Mecca produced agreement on a Palestinian national unity government signed by Mahmoud Abbas on behalf of Fatah and Khaled Mashal on behalf of Hamas. The agreement included measures to end the internecine violence, a key for distributing portfolios and the text of a letter of appointment to be given by Abu Mazen to the new government, and steps to incorporate Hamas and Islamic Jihad into the Palestine Liberation Organization. In addition, there is apparently an understanding to held early...
Last week’s meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, their first since an informal encounter in June, does not mark the renewal of any serious Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Nevertheless, its importance goes beyond the mere fact that it took place. Potentially, at least, it may signal a joint desire to break the impasse that has characterized Israeli-Palestinian relations since the collapse of peace negotiations more than six years ago.
On November 8, an errant IDF artillery shell intended to disrupt the launching of Qassam rockets landed in a residential area in Beit Hanoun and killed 23 Palestinians. That tragic result, which dramatized the distress to Gaza Strip residents caused by the constant escalation of violence, also prompted Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to renew negotiations on the guidelines for a National Unity Government. But after several weeks of discussions, differences over basic principles and...
Following the failure of efforts to reach agreement between Hamas and Fatah on the formation of a government of national unity, there are growing fears among Palestinians that the two movements are now on the brink of an all-out civil war. Indeed, some argue that the war has already begun, albeit still on a small scale.
