Palestinian Unity

A mosque minaret rises among the ruins of Al-Nada towers after they were destroyed by Israeli strikes in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, August 4, 2014. The towers had 90 flats. So far, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,870 Palestinians, and injured 9,470 since the beginning of the Israeli offensive (photo: Activestills)

War is the new system of governance (and five other Gaza takeaways)

The status quo of the occupation has reached a new level of violence and destruction, but there is no political power in sight that can impose a change on the ground. 1. Israel paid more than it expected for a bit less than it wanted. Israel’s strategic goal in this war was to maintain the status…

By Noam Sheizaf August 28, 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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of an Israeli flag (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

This is a war of choice. Netanyahu’s choice

Netanyahu is no hero, and the tragedy is our own. Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon on Tuesday, after the latter criticized Netanyahu for holding fire, and even called him “a lefty,” which is probably the worst thing you can say to someone in the current political atmosphere. Sacking Danon is not…

By Noam Sheizaf July 16, 2014

Latest

A Palestinian man and boy react to the sound of a Israeli warplane, flying at very low altitude above the ruins of the government building, which was completely destroyed that morning. Gaza city, November 17, 2012 (photo: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

It’s time to talk about Gaza

For the sake of both the residents of Israel’s south and the Palestinians, we must speak about Gaza as a place with real people, rather than as a science experiment. Over the past few years, the Israeli public discussion has reduced conditions in Gaza to one of two situations: either it’s the place where rockets…

By Haggai Matar July 3, 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

Israeli soldiers stationed at the entrance to the West Bank city of Hebron, seen on June 15, 2014. A complete closure was put on the city after three Israeli teenagers went missing near a West Bank settlement. The three, all students at a Jewish seminary, went missing late on June 12 as they were hitchhiking between Bethlehem and Hebron and are believed to have been kidnapped. (Photo by Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

The kidnapping: Israelis aren’t the only ones facing national tragedy

Providing context may be taboo at a time when the entire country is focused on the fate of three kidnapped Israeli teens, but it is part and parcel of the story. Since news broke Friday of the alleged kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers who study in a West Bank yeshiva north of Hebron the night…

By Mairav Zonszein June 15, 2014

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

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

A Palestinian youth holds a mock rocket as thousands of Palestinians celebrate Hamas' 25th anniversary in the West Bank city of Hebron, December 14, 2012.
This is the first time since 2007 that the Palestinian Authority has allowed Hamas to celebrate its anniversary in the West Bank. (photo by: Oren Ziv/ Activestills.org)

Hamas: Political pragmatists or Islamic dogmatics?

Time and again, Hamas’ willingness to abide by ceasefires with Israel has been driven by political considerations, mostly vis-a-vis its participation in the Palestinian Authority and PLO. By Moriel Rothman There are few skills more crucial for understanding the Palestinian-Israeli landscape than the ability to differentiate between rhetoric and reality. For example: The Netanyahu government…

By +972 Magazine May 1, 2014

A Palestinian woman carries a key, a symbol of the Nakba and the right of return, May 15, 2012, Ramallah. (Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

True Palestinian reconciliation must include refugees

By ensuring that the diaspora’s rights are fully represented in the Palestinian liberation struggle, Palestinians can draw upon the combined financial and human resources of that worldwide community to finally shed the manacles of Oslo. By Samer Badawi Last week’s unexpected détente between the would-be “governments” of Fatah and Hamas raises more questions than it…

By Samer Badawi April 28, 2014

Palestinian students of various political affiliations stand together in a protest against Israeli arrests, An-Najah National University, Nablus, October 31, 2013. (Photo: Activestills.org)

A bold proposal to end the Palestinian-Palestinian impasse

‘It is becoming harder and harder to proclaim one’s affinity for Palestine without an immediate and echoing retort accusing you of either being too quixotic or too compromising.’ By Talal Alyan There is something so dreadfully boring about writing a piece about reconciliation. I felt compelled to do so last summer about the broad “Left”…

By +972 Magazine November 13, 2013

‘We are in a continuous intifada’: Interview with Fatah’s Husam Zomlot

By Alexis Thiry Sometimes accused of being an apparatus composed only of old figures, Yasser Arafat’s political formation, Fatah, also includes young personalities. Husam Zomlot, the executive deputy commissioner for Fatah’s Commission for International Affairs, embodies the party’s new generation. Fluent in English, he is frequently interviewed by the western media. He talks in a…

By +972 Magazine March 1, 2012

Occupation remains the obstacle to Palestinian unity

Put simply, Palestinian unity strikes fear in the hearts of Israeli strategists and military planners. A unified Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza which adopts nonviolent resistance tactics has the potential to inflict incredible damage on the Israeli occupation. Actually, Israel does not have an effective strategy to combat Palestinian nonviolence and unity.…

By Joseph Dana April 28, 2011