Palestinian unity government

Nader Obu Odeh, age 6, gathers wood from destroyed houses to make a fire, Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip. The Abu Odeh family, 33 people including 21 children, live in a three-story building that has six apartments. They were forced to flee their house, along with the residents of Beit Hanoun, due to the Israeli attack. They took shelter in the Jabalya Secondary School for boys, in Jabalya Refugee Camp, but returned to their bombed home because of harsh conditions in the school. Since then, they are living in the remains of their damaged house without electricity and gas.

Seven years later, Israel decides Gaza blockade is ineffective

After seven years of siege, the defense establishment has suddenly discovered that the blockade on Gaza is not helpful. It’s no coincidence, of course, that this realization comes after a war that devastated the Strip and has the Palestinians focused on reconstruction. “Israel now admits that the almost-airtight blockade of Gaza has done more harm…

By Haggai Matar October 11, 2014

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the swearing in ceremony for the new unity government, Ramallah, June 2, 2014. (Photo: Mustafa Bader/Activestills.org)

Palestinian unity is no substitute for a viable political system

Where do the U.S. and Israel want Hamas: as part of a transparent political system, or in underground tunnels? By Sam Bahour Palestinian “unity,” reconciling tensions between Hamas and Fatah, is being revered as the foundation that can extract Gaza from the misery wrought upon it by yet another brutal Israeli military onslaught. The devastation…

By +972 Magazine August 17, 2014

Israeli army officer next to the site where the bodies of three missing teens were located, June 30 2014 (photo: Activestills)

Analysis: The end of the ‘cheap occupation’ era

Israel may soon have to say goodbye to its tight-knit cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and the relative calm that comes with it. The discovery of the bodies of three Israeli teens who have been missing for the last 18 days, along with the public calls for vengeance heard in Israel today, could mark the…

By Noam Sheizaf July 1, 2014

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A Hamas supporter in Gaza City, March 23, 2014. (Basel Yazouri/Activestills.org)

In Gaza, looking back at Hamas’ legacy

Gaza’s younger generation always believed in Hamas’s right to be in power, but Hamas never believed in the youth’s right to take part in their own society. By Abeer Ayyoub I was only 18 when Hamas won the parliamentary elections in 2006. I wasn’t fully aware of the difference Hamas could make for the country,…

By +972 Magazine June 14, 2014

File photo of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: PPO/Thaer Ghanaim - Handout)

West Bank kidnapping: The Palestinian unity government’s first real test

Regardless of who is responsible, the new Fatah-Hamas unity government will be watched closely for its response to the kidnappings. Hours after a gag order prevented the Israeli media from publishing the story, we can now report that three Israeli teens, who study in the West Bank, have even missing since Thursday night. The IDF…

By Haggai Matar June 13, 2014

Netanyahu (Yotam Ronen / Activestills)

Is Israel recognizing the Palestinian national unity government after all?

If the Israeli government insists on boycotting the new Palestinian unity government, how can it also insist on pouring money into the Palestinian Authority? By the end of June, Israel is expected to once more sit at the same table as the Palestinian Authority – the same Palestinian Authority that it has been so adamant…

By Haggai Matar June 11, 2014

An Israeli settlement water tank stands near the Ibrahimi Mosque or Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Settlements as punishment prove Palestinian lives are bargaining chip

By using settlements as a punitive response to Palestinian political actions, Israel proves they come at the direct expense of Palestinian statehood, and that it holds all the power in this conflict. Here we go again. Palestinians do something Israel doesn’t approve of, and Israel retaliates by using its unchecked power and leverage to block…

By Mairav Zonszein June 6, 2014

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the swearing in ceremony for the new unity government, Ramallah, June 2, 2014. (Photo: Mustafa Bader/Activestills.org)

Five possible consequences of Hamas-Fatah unity

Hamas could be moderated by entering the mainstream, internationally acceptable Palestinian government. Or it could follow the Hezbollah model and slowly reverse Abbas’s legacy. The Hamas-Fatah reconciliation is either the end of days, or the dawn over new horizons. The deal is so confusing because it might mean one thing – or else the opposite.…

By Dahlia Scheindlin June 2, 2014

The new Palestinian government, Ramallah, June 2, 2014. (Photo: Mustafa Bader/Activestills.org)

Bucking Israeli sanctions, Palestinians form unity gov’t

Swearing in of technocratic government is a first step in ending a seven-year rift between Hamas and Fatah. Israel takes punitive measures against the inclusion of Hamas. A technocratic Palestinian unity government was sworn in on Monday, a first step toward ending a seven-year rift between rival factions Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man June 2, 2014