A New Approach to Palestinian Aid
An alternative aid model would focus donors on ways to counter dispossession, keep Palestinians on their land, and challenge Israel’s occupation policies and practices without forfeiting the ability to function in the OPTs. Here are three things donors can consider: … Continue reading A New Approach to Palestinian Aid
World Bank Policies Persistently Fail Palestinians
It is time to look for alternative models of aid, ones that do not simply seek new ways for the Palestinians to cope with life under occupation, but rather challenge the status quo while enabling Palestinians to survive, by, for … Continue reading World Bank Policies Persistently Fail Palestinians
Podcast: Alaa Tartir on Building a Sustainable Palestinian “Resistance Economy”
“What Palestinians need under occupation is a resistance economy. They need an economy that can support them in order to face the occupation, and eventually to end the occupation.” – Alaa Tartir, on this week’s podcast Interviewed by Nora Barrows-Friedman, The … Continue reading Podcast: Alaa Tartir on Building a Sustainable Palestinian “Resistance Economy”
Persistent Failure: World Bank Policies for the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The recent World Bank growth report frankly concludes that the Palestinian economy is fragile and dependent on foreign aid: No surprises there. Far more surprising – not to say shocking – are the Bank’s irrelevant and sometimes harmful recommendations, as … Continue reading Persistent Failure: World Bank Policies for the Occupied Palestinian Territories
إخفاق مستمر: سياسات البنك الدولي للأراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة
يخلُص تقرير البنك الدولي الأخير بشأن النمو، صراحةً، إلى أن الاقتصاد الفلسطيني هشٌّ ومعتمدٌ على المساعدات الدولية، ولا غرابةً في ذلك. أمّا الدهشة – إن لم نقل الصدمة – فتكمن في توصيات البنك عديمةِ الصلة والمضرةِ أحيانًا، كما يكشف مدير … Continue reading إخفاق مستمر: سياسات البنك الدولي للأراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة
المنطقة الصناعية الزراعية في أريحا: ممر سلام أم إدامة احتلال؟
في نهاية المطاف فإن محاججتنا واضحة و صريحة:فمشروع المنطقة الصناعية الزراعية في أريحا يشكل أنموذجاً آخرَ لنهج الدوران حول المشكلة وعدم عنونة جذورها؛ بمعنى أن هذا المشروع لم يُبنَ بهدف مجابهة وتحدي الاحتلال والاشتباك معه، وإنّا من أجل فرض سلامٍ … Continue reading المنطقة الصناعية الزراعية في أريحا: ممر سلام أم إدامة احتلال؟
Security in Hybrid Political Contexts: An End-User Approach
This paper is based upon a systematic peer-led review of literature on hybrid security arrangements in fragile and conflict-affected spaces. The overall objective is to answer the question: What is the evidence that hybrid security arrangements benefit end-users in fragile … Continue reading Security in Hybrid Political Contexts: An End-User Approach
The Intertwined Relation between Gaza’s Tunnels and the Israeli Siege
Dependency theorists have often used the words distorted or disarticulated or deformed to describe dependent economies. Today it is hard to find a more distorted or disarticulated economy than that of the Gaza Strip under the draconian blockade imposed by … Continue reading The Intertwined Relation between Gaza’s Tunnels and the Israeli Siege
Book Review – Palestinian Politics and the Middle East Peace Process: Consensus and Competition in the Palestinian Negotiating Team
Ghassan Khatib was a part of the Palestinian leadership and was present during peace negotiations on the Israeli-Palestinian issue in Madrid and Washington DC. His book gives original insight and accounts from the 1990s peace process including those of the Washington … Continue reading Book Review – Palestinian Politics and the Middle East Peace Process: Consensus and Competition in the Palestinian Negotiating Team
Advanced Course On Conflict, Crisis And Transitions
The past decade has seen a surge in attention to supporting countries affected by and recovering from conflict. A parallel growth has also occurred in the number of professionals working in the fields of humanitarian, development and post-conflict recovery policymaking … Continue reading Advanced Course On Conflict, Crisis And Transitions
Book review – Why Is Aid Not Effective in the Palestinian Case And How This Can be Changed?
Despite for many years receiving one of the highest per capita aid worldwide, the economies of the West Bank and Gaza Strip have failed to achieve any lasting developmental outcomes and suffer from major weaknesses which undermine their very survival. This book … Continue reading Book review – Why Is Aid Not Effective in the Palestinian Case And How This Can be Changed?
زراعة فلسطين من أجل الحرية
لا تخفى على أحد الآثارُ التي يخلِّفها الاحتلال والاستعمار الإسرائيلي على الزراعة الفلسطينية، ولكن قلةً فقط يتطرقون إلى الآثار المترتبة على سياسات السلطة الفلسطينية والجهات المانحة. ينضم الكاتب الضيف رامي زريق إلى مستشاري الشبكة لشؤون السياسات سامر عبد النور وعلاء … Continue reading زراعة فلسطين من أجل الحرية
Farming Palestine for Freedom
For Palestinians, agriculture is more than a source of income or an economic category in budgets and plans. It is tied to the people’s history, identity, and self-expression, and drives the struggle against Israel’s Separation Wall. In this brief, Lebanese … Continue reading Farming Palestine for Freedom
Palestine and the Arab Intifadas: Reflections, Consequences and Opportunities
Where are the Palestinians from the Arab Intifadas; what happened to them; who is revolting in Palestine and against whom; how they were affected; and what opportunities these Intifadas offer to Palestinians? Is there an ‘untold revolution’ in Palestine despite … Continue reading Palestine and the Arab Intifadas: Reflections, Consequences and Opportunities
القطاع الخاص ودوره التنموي في فلسطين المحتلة: “تنمية” في اتجاه واحد؟
بالمحصلة النهائية فإننا نسعى من خلال هذه الدراسة للمساهمة في خلق فهم مغاير للعملية التنموية ودور الفاعلين الرئيسيين فيها، ونحاول إعادة التفكير في وانتقاد الأساليب والنهج المستخدمة، والتي لم تجلب على مدار العقدين الماضيين إلا مزيدا من حالة اللاتنمية. وبذا … Continue reading القطاع الخاص ودوره التنموي في فلسطين المحتلة: “تنمية” في اتجاه واحد؟
‘Good Governance’ for State-Building in the West Bank, Palestine: Fayyadism, Hybridity and Sovereignty
Advancing few Major Arguments: Fayyadism entrenched the occupation and Palestinians are no nearer to self-determination and sovereignty; The ‘governance without a state’ framework is peculiar in the Palestinian case; State and non-state actors co-govern, but sovereignty remains with the occupation … Continue reading ‘Good Governance’ for State-Building in the West Bank, Palestine: Fayyadism, Hybridity and Sovereignty
Fatah and Hamas: An Elusive Reconciliation
At the end of the day the message is short and clear: until the Palestinians themselves, and only themselves, revolt against the Fatah-Hamas enterprise, the status quo will remain dominant and hence the colonial occupation will continue with its ground-plan … Continue reading Fatah and Hamas: An Elusive Reconciliation
Neo-liberalism for Development and Statehood in Palestine:Fayyadism, Aid Dependency and State Building
In post-Arafat era, the Palestinian polity, governance systems, and the socio-economic conditions witnessed dramatic changes. ‘Fayyadism’ and ‘state-building program’ became the two ‘magical’ paradigms and the only game in town. They acquired unprecedented levels of international aid and western ‘political’ … Continue reading Neo-liberalism for Development and Statehood in Palestine:Fayyadism, Aid Dependency and State Building
Can Aid Contribute to Development?
Aid can contribute to the development in Palestine, but few preconditions and prerequisites need to exist: Understanding the development process as resistance, rights and freedom; Adopt a politicized version of Senian development model; Respect the self-determination and dignity in aid … Continue reading Can Aid Contribute to Development?
Aid and Development in Palestine: Anything, but Linear Relationship. Can aid contribute to development?
“Receiving aid is not just like receiving an elephant but like making love to an elephant; there is no pleasure in it, you run the risk of being crushed and it takes years before you see the results. Aid is … Continue reading Aid and Development in Palestine: Anything, but Linear Relationship. Can aid contribute to development?
Defeating Dependency, Creating a Resistance Economy
In an important recent piece – Economic Hallucination – Ramallah-based Al-Shabaka policy advisor Sam Bahour exposed the charade played by both Western donors and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to cover up the occupied territory’s inexorable economic meltdown after decades of Israeli military occupation. Arguing … Continue reading Defeating Dependency, Creating a Resistance Economy
Alaa Tartir, Program Director of Al-Shabaka, Engaged Scholar, Global Citizen 