Projects - Middle East
Breaking the Israel-Palestine Status Quo: A Rights-Based Approach
About the Project

After decades of failed negotiations, many argue that little that can be achieved in pursuing Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking right now. Yet parking the conflict or returning to the pre-Trump status quo ante could have serious implications not only for Israelis and Palestinians but also for the region and the United States. How can the U.S. administration do more by doing less and help reverse negative trends that are cementing occupation and inequality, while avoiding previous failed policies that have empowered anti-democratic forces in both Israel and Palestine?

Programs

Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington  combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

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About the Report

Authors Zaha Hassan, Daniel Levy, Hallaamal Keir, and Marwan Muasher argue that instead of working to sustain a moribund peace process, it’s time for a new approach—one that supports a rules-based international order, centers rights, and reimagines available policy tools to advance a durable solution that enhances peace and human security.

A Timeline of U.S. Policy Toward Palestine

Starting with secret talks in the 1980s, this timeline provides a snapshot of major events, milestones, and legislation that have influenced relations between the United States and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Going Deeper

Shifting the paradigm, conditioning security assistance and Gaza policy.

Going Deeper

Shifting the paradigm, conditioning security assistance and Gaza policy.

article
Approaching Peace: Centering Rights in Israel-Palestine Conflict Resolution

Centering rights and human security will not only help create the conditions needed to achieve a durable political solution but also promote U.S. interests abroad.

article
Approaching Peace: Centering Rights in Israel-Palestine Conflict Resolution

Centering rights and human security will not only help create the conditions needed to achieve a durable political solution but also promote U.S. interests abroad.

article
Bringing Assistance to Israel in Line With Rights and U.S. Laws

Ensuring that Israel, the largest recipient of U.S. security assistance, complies with federal laws and international human rights standards will require closely tracking and monitoring its weapons use.

article
Bringing Assistance to Israel in Line With Rights and U.S. Laws

Ensuring that Israel, the largest recipient of U.S. security assistance, complies with federal laws and international human rights standards will require closely tracking and monitoring its weapons use.

commentary
Can There Be Freedom, Prosperity, and Democracy for Gaza?

U.S. President Joe Biden says he wants “equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy” for Gaza. What steps can he take to achieve that in practice?

commentary
Can There Be Freedom, Prosperity, and Democracy for Gaza?

U.S. President Joe Biden says he wants “equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy” for Gaza. What steps can he take to achieve that in practice?

Palestinian Prisoner Payments

Since 2014, U.S. and Israeli policymakers have been calling on the Palestinian leadership to end welfare payments to prisoners in Israeli jails and to the families of prisoners and those killed by Israelis during political violence. However, Palestinians and supporters view them as a necessary social safety net in the face of brutal and oppressive living conditions under Israeli military occupation.

Advancing the Debate: Additional Perspectives

In separate commentaries, scholars Jake Walles, Aaron David Miller, and Scott Lasensky offer additional perspectives on these issues.

Advancing the Debate: Additional Perspectives

In separate commentaries, scholars Jake Walles, Aaron David Miller, and Scott Lasensky offer additional perspectives on these issues.

commentary
The Inescapable Two-State Imperative

External pressure has never been effective in forcing the parties to abandon their core principles. Only a negotiated two-state solution has the potential to satisfy both sides.

commentary
The Inescapable Two-State Imperative

External pressure has never been effective in forcing the parties to abandon their core principles. Only a negotiated two-state solution has the potential to satisfy both sides.

commentary
Why a Rights-Based Approach Won’t Work

The United States can play an important mediating role in conflicts, but it's only truly effective when the parties own their negotiations and engage with one another based on their own interests and motives.

commentary
Why a Rights-Based Approach Won’t Work

The United States can play an important mediating role in conflicts, but it's only truly effective when the parties own their negotiations and engage with one another based on their own interests and motives.

commentary
Back to Peacemaking: Lessons for the United States

A rights-based approach to Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking must be balanced with the national interests of the United States, as well as those of the parties themselves.

  • Scott Lasensky
commentary
Back to Peacemaking: Lessons for the United States

A rights-based approach to Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking must be balanced with the national interests of the United States, as well as those of the parties themselves.

  • Scott Lasensky

All work from Breaking the Israel-Palestine Status Quo: A Rights-Based Approach

10 Results
commentary
Can There Be Freedom, Prosperity, and Democracy for Gaza?

U.S. President Joe Biden says he wants “equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy” for Gaza. What steps can he take to achieve that in practice?

· May 27, 2021
In The Media
in the media
Biden’s Old Playbook Won’t End Israeli-Palestinian Violence

Absent a change in the U.S. approach, renewed conflict is inevitable, and with each iteration the terms of engagement will deteriorate further and the United States will be left carrying an ever-heavier Middle Eastern burden as it seeks to focus its energy elsewhere.

· May 13, 2021
article
Bringing Assistance to Israel in Line With Rights and U.S. Laws

Ensuring that Israel, the largest recipient of U.S. security assistance, complies with federal laws and international human rights standards will require closely tracking and monitoring its weapons use.

· May 12, 2021
article
The Old Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Is Dead—Long Live the Emerging Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become deeply ingrained in daily life. Work must begin now to heal deep-seated divisions, which are not likely to be resolved in a burst of diplomacy.

· May 5, 2021
article
Approaching Peace: Centering Rights in Israel-Palestine Conflict Resolution

Centering rights and human security will not only help create the conditions needed to achieve a durable political solution but also promote U.S. interests abroad.

· April 29, 2021
paper
Breaking the Israel-Palestine Status Quo

A new U.S. approach should prioritize protecting the rights and human security of Palestinians and Israelis over maintaining a peace process and attempting short-term fixes.

· April 19, 2021
commentary
The Benefits of a Ballot

Elections may breathe some life into Palestinian governance, despite the fact there are those who oppose them.

· March 24, 2021
article
Slightly Dialing Back the Cynicism About Palestine’s Upcoming Elections

Holding elections wouldn't solve all the problems Palestinians face, but they could lead to a semblance of unity, or at least modest signs of renewal and better coordination

· March 4, 2021
report
Two States or One? Reappraising the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse

The Israeli and Palestinian communities are growing ever closer physically while remaining separated politically. Any solution must adequately address the needs of both sides.

  • +5
· September 18, 2018
article
Revitalizing Palestinian Nationalism: Options Versus Realities

The Palestinian national movement needs a coherent strategy, along with a new generation of leaders that can stem the political ruptures and inject new life into Palestinian institutions.