PAST EVENT
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
On March 31, 2009, the Brookings Doha Center hosted Saeb Erakat, Head of the Palestine Liberation Organization Negotiations Affairs Department, for a policy discussion. Erakat opened the session by responding directly to the inauguration speech given a few hours earlier by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He expressed disappointment in Netanyahu’s failure to highlight the two-state solution in his speech and said that the Israeli leader's call for Palestinians to rule themselves is not a possibility when they must live in a continued state of occupation. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Navtej Dhillon, March 10, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Donors have pledged $4.4 billion in new aid to rebuild Gaza, yet serious questions remain regarding the fate of the Palestinian economy. Navtej Dhillon writes that the West Bank and Gaza need more than a lifeline of aid to achieve real development for a growing youth population. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bilal Y. Saab, January 30, 2009, Jane’s Foreign Report
Following a three-week war with Israel, Hamas officials have recently emerged from weeks in hiding for a "victory celebration." Bilal Saab argues that while support for Hamas remains strong, anger and fears have been on the rise among Palestinians. Saab examines the war in Gaza and where Hamas can go from here. Read More
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
With a fragile cease-fire in place in the Gaza Strip, President Obama is sending very different signals to the Middle East and the larger Arab world than his predecessor. In a web chat moderated by Politco’s Fred Barbash, Brookings expert Tamara Cofman Wittes answered questions on how these new messages are being received and the challenges that await the new president in the region. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin S. Indyk, January 19, 2009, Time
Martin Indyk, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, argues that there is an opportunity in the Gaza crisis for the new president to achieve a better future for Palestinians and Israelis. The immediate objective, says Indyk, is a sustainable cease-fire, but then President Obama should urgently to paint his vision of a comprehensive resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, summoning all leaders of goodwill to the task. Read More
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Washington, DC
The latest conflict in Gaza has exacerbated an already fragile humanitarian situation and created another humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement hosted a discussion on the humanitarian situation in Gaza within the broader context of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Navtej Dhillon and Edward Sayre, January 14, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Navtej Dhillon speaks to Edward Sayre, co-author of a forthcoming Middle East Youth Initiative working paper on Palestinian youth, on the economic conditions in the Palestinian Territories. As the Gaza crisis continues and young Palestinians face deteriorating prospects, the imperative of transforming a weak and fragmented Palestinian economy is greater than ever. Read More
PAST EVENT
Monday, January 05, 2009
2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Washington, DC
Israel's continued engagement against Hamas in Gaza, now being waged with ground forces, further complicates Barack Obama's agenda for the Middle East, which also includes withdrawing from Iraq and capping Iran’s nuclear ambitions. On January 5, Martin Indyk and Kenneth Pollack offered a public memo to President-elect Obama with recommendations on how to deal with the urgent challenges that will confront him across the volatile region. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin S. Indyk and Kenneth M. Pollack, January 05, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Israel and Hamas continue to battle, dismissing a United Nations call for a cease-fire. In addition to the volatile situation in Gaza, the next president will face a Middle East in turmoil and an American public weary of engagement there. That challenge requires a return to diplomacy in order to begin the withdrawal from Iraq, cap Iran’s nuclear ambitions and promote a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. Read More