1967 borders

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a PLO executive committee meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, August 22, 2015. (Flash90)

Palestinian reconciliation could work this time. Israel must support it

The current Palestinian reconciliation agreement looks like it could actually hold, largely due to regional and internal changes over the past few years. What does this bode for the peace process? A former minister in the Palestinian government explains. By Ashraf al-Ajrami This is not the first time the two large Palestinian political movements, Fatah…

By +972 Magazine October 15, 2017

Masked gunmen from the Qassam brigade, the armed wing of Hamas, attend the funeral of Mazen Faqha in Gaza City, Saturday, March, 25, 2017. (Wissam Nassar/Flash90)

Religion out, nationalism in: Will Hamas’ charter divide the movement?

Hamas new ‘Document of Principles’ ditches Islamism for frank positions on borders, international law, and human rights. But can the movement maintain unity as it inches closer to the ideas held by its rivals in the PLO? By Menachem Klein (translated by Philip Podolsky) Hamas’ recently-revised charter, titled “Document of General Principles and Policies” sees the group go down…

By +972 Magazine May 14, 2017

Palestinian and Israeil flags (Activestills)

Israelis, Palestinians are ready to accept international consensus

For the first time since 1967, both the Israeli public and the Palestinians are likely to accept an outline for a final-status agreement based on international law. By Shmuel Lederman A recent poll conducted by the The Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion on an outline for a…

By +972 Magazine May 6, 2017

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Thousands attend a protest in Wadi Ara, northern Israel, following recent housing demolitions and the death of Yacoub Abu al-Qi'an earlier this week. January 21, 2017. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)

How we can stop the normalization of the occupation

Those who want the occupation to end should make every effort to push their governments to express the illegitimacy of Israeli policy and demand the establishment of a Palestinian state. By Yuval Halperin Following the establishment of Israel in 1948, more than 100 new states were created around the world. In fact most of the sovereign states now in existence have been established in…

By +972 Magazine January 26, 2017

A pro Israeli rally organized by the Israeli consulate in Chicago, IL, on July 22, 2014. At the same time, a protest against the Attack on Gaza was held across the street. (Tess Scheflan/Activestills.org

Stop asking whether Israel is Jewish or democratic

This isn’t a choice between ‘Jewish or democratic’ — the only question is whether Israel can still become a true democracy. For some years, the political center-left in Israel has committed itself to the idea of a Jewish and democratic state. For these mostly secular and traditional people, “Jewish” used to mean some sort of…

By Dahlia Scheindlin January 24, 2016

The representative of Palestine speaks to the UN Security Council. (UN Photo/Loey Felipe)

The world’s obligation to end the occupation

Israeli-Palestinian relations do not solely belong to Israel. The international community has a right and an obligation to intervene. By Ilan Baruch Right-wing propagandists have been quick to take credit for the outcome of the UN Security Council vote on Tuesday, which rejected the Palestinians’ resolution to unilaterally end the occupation, rather than through negotiations.…

By +972 Magazine January 1, 2015

A demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag as he looks over the wall during the weekly protest against the wall and the occupation in the West Bank village of Bil'in, January 4, 2012. The weekly demo was marking the second anniversary of the martyrdom of Jawaher Abu-Rahma, who died after she was injured from tear gas during the Friday demo in the village. (Photo by: Guest photographer Hamde Abu Rahma/ Activestills.org)

Most Jewish Israelis oppose Palestinian state, new poll shows

No poll is perfect, but this one happens to be an accurate reflection of the Israeli government’s policies, much of its rhetoric, and the reality on the ground. A large majority of Jewish Israeli citizens (74 percent) oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 borders, according to a new poll conducted by the Jerusalem Center…

By Mairav Zonszein October 19, 2014

PA President Abbas holding up the application for UN membership in September 2011 (photo: UN/Marco Castro)

A Palestinian ultimatum to end occupation?

In a diplomatic surprise, the Palestinians have threatened to turn to the International Criminal Court if no date is set for a withdrawal to the 1967 borders – a move that +972 writers predicted more than a year ago. The PLO will demand that the UN Security Council announce a deadline for Israel to withdraw…

By Dahlia Scheindlin August 28, 2014

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, and Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat address reporters on the Middle East Peace Process Talks at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on July 30, 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Beware, J Street: The Kerry deal looks rigged against the Palestinians

Well-intentioned American Jewish liberals backing this latest U.S.-led peace process appear to be riding for a fall. What is J Street going to say if, after urging American Jews to support the Kerry peace mission, that mission wins the support of the right-wing Netanyahu government – but not that of the Palestinians, who view it…

By Larry Derfner February 17, 2014

Prime Minister Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at their Meeting in Jerusalem (photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Goodbye boycott: The cost of Kerry’s ‘breakthrough,’ part 2

The tactic of punishing Israel for the occupation was finally beginning to take a psychological toll – then the U.S. secretary of state rode to the rescue. The Palestinian Authority was planning to go to the UN in September, in line with the 20th anniversary of the failed Oslo Accords, and begin the process of…

By Larry Derfner July 21, 2013

Settlement of Har Homa (Activestills)

To be a peace broker, U.S. must reasses its position on settlements

The appointment of Senator John Kerry as the next U.S. Secretary of State could represent a new opportunity for Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. But for efforts to be successful, the U.S. will have to reconsider its message that settlement construction is a matter of negotiation. By Lorenzo Kamel The day after the UN voted to recognize Palestine as…

By +972 Magazine December 29, 2012

The first Mr. Hasbara: Mike Wallace’s 1958 talk with Abba Eban

On the country’s 10th birthday, Israel’s ambassador to Washington touched on issues that remain on the political agenda half a century later: His government’s territorial ambitions, the refugee problem and Israel’s expectations of the American Jewish community. Mike Wallace, the legendary host of 60 minutes who passed away on Saturday, interviewed in 1958 Israel’s ambassador…

By Noam Sheizaf April 9, 2012

Quartet mum on Jewish state, set new negotiation deadline

The international mediators scrapped plans to endorse a Jewish state. That was probably a wise choice. Right now, the threat to dissolve the PA, if credible, could be much more significant than moves on Palestinian statehood The Middle East International Quartet – composed of the US, EU, UN and Russia – issued a statement yesterday, following…

By Roi Maor September 24, 2011