Peace Process

Policy Analysis on Peace Process

With Gantz Out, Can Netanyahu Resist the Far Right’s Pull?

U.S. officials are wary of Israel’s expanding political minefield and prefer to avoid direct intervention on domestically sensitive issues, but the policy implications of Gantz’s resignation—particularly the strengthening of the far right—will make it difficult to avoid weighing in.

Jun 11, 2024

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David Makovsky

Brief Analysis

Improving an Overlooked Aspect of the Gaza Ceasefire Proposal

As laid out in President Biden’s speech, the initial terms of the proposed deal include a disturbing imbalance in who guarantees that Hamas and Israel fulfill their commitments under the agreement—a problem that should be fixed now rather than later.

Jun 3, 2024

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Robert Satloff

Photo of Palestinian workers awaiting entry into Israel from Gaza.

Brief Analysis

West Bank Economics Are Key to Stabilizing the Palestinian Authority—or Forcing Its Collapse

If implemented in full, Israel’s latest tax, banking, and victim-compensation measures could bring the West Bank’s two decades of relative stability crashing down—along with any plans to have the PA play a postwar role in Gaza.

May 31, 2024

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Neomi Neumann

Egyptian and Israeli flags along the Sinai border

Brief Analysis

The Gaza War Is Eroding Egypt-Israel Relations

Their longstanding peace treaty may be safe, but the growing tensions threaten to unwind years of progress and distract Egypt from its most important goal—securing a ceasefire with Hamas.

May 28, 2024

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David Schenker

A view of a Palestinian neighborhood reduced to rubble in Gaza - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Here’s the Real Problem with the U.N.’s Revised Gaza Death Toll

The adjusted numbers reflect the many challenges of counting deaths in a chaotic urban conflict.

May 24, 2024

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Gabriel Epstein

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh speaks in Tehran, Iran, in May 2024 - source: Reuters

Brief Analysis

“Moderate” Hamas Statements Are an Old Ploy

Hamas leaders have recently tempered their fiery rhetoric with more moderate-sounding statements about a ceasefire along the 1967 lines, but this is merely a tactical move designed to advance the group’s main goal—establishing an Islamist state “between the river and the sea.”

May 23, 2024

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Neomi Neumann
Matthew Levitt

Articles & Testimony

Can Hamas Be Defeated?

Although the group’s ideology will persist, the tools used to advance it can be effectively constrained through measures that turn a major threat into a marginal irritant.

May 21, 2024

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Ghaith al-Omari

Destruction from the Israeli strike on Hamas targets at the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza.

Articles & Testimony

The Dangers of an Ungovernable Gaza

As the conditions for long-term lawlessness and violence begin to take root, a former Pentagon official details the urgent steps Washington and its partners should take to prepare for the postwar “golden hour.”

May 20, 2024

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Dana Stroul

Then Vice President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in 2010 - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Some Big Decisions: What It Will Take to Repair Israel-US Ties

The two allies are unlikely to agree on everything, but they need to iron out their differences given how much is at stake.

May 17, 2024

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David Makovsky

A table listing claimed Palestinian fatalities in Gaza from December 2023 to May 2024.war.

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Untangling the UN’s Gaza Fatality Data

A major shift in the death toll for women and children points to deeper problems in the way OCHA is relaying data and handling questionable sources.

May 17, 2024

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Gabriel Epstein

Articles & Testimony

What Hamas Wants in Postwar Gaza: The Power to Fight Without the Burden of Governing

The group is following Hezbollah’s playbook to a tee: first, secure victory simply by surviving, then take hold of the postwar governance structure while retaining its independent fighting force.

May 10, 2024

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Matthew Levitt

Brief Analysis

Will Turkey Cut Ties with Israel?

Although the latest rift is more than rhetorical, Ankara is unlikely to sever ties completely—unless Israel blocks it from participating in Gaza’s reconstruction.

May 8, 2024

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Soner Cagaptay

Photo of Muslim World League secretary-general Mohammad Al-Issa visiting Auschwitz

Articles & Testimony

A Yom Hashoah Message, from Disgust to Hope

The Gaza war has inspired prominent Arab media outlets and statesmen to come up with vile new forms of Holocaust denialism, but other voices offer a glimmer of hope.

May 5, 2024

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Robert Satloff

A student protester holds a sign reading "Globalize the Intifada" at Columbia University in New York City - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

I Attended Columbia University—I Don’t Recognize It Today

Administrators should do more to help students critically assess the barrage of disinformation they are subjected to outside the classroom—while also punishing those who clearly violate the institution’s policies and core values.

May 2, 2024

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Ben Fishman

Articles & Testimony

Why Israel Should Declare a Unilateral Cease-Fire in Gaza

Doing so could turn the tables on Hamas and Iran while simultaneously advancing normalization with Saudi Arabia and other regional governments.

May 1, 2024

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Dennis Ross
David Makovsky

◆ Risks and Opportunities in the Post-April 13 Middle East

Protesters in New York City demand the release of U.S. citizens held hostage by Hamas in Gaza - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

As an American, I Am Ashamed

The Washington Institute's executive director decries the manner in which Americans and other hostages held in Gaza are being used as nameless bargaining chips.

Apr 29, 2024

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Robert Satloff

The national flag of Malaysia - source: World Bank

Brief Analysis

The Malaysia-Iran-Israel Triangle Amid the Gaza War

Kuala Lumpur is once again displaying its willingness to facilitate Iran’s illicit activity, support Hamas, and amplify anti-Israel rhetoric well beyond what its neighbors have countenanced.

Apr 25, 2024

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Rebecca Redlich

Brief Analysis

The Palestinian Arena in the Shadow of the Iran-Israel Crisis

The crisis has given the United States, Israel, and their partners a unique opportunity to build an international coalition against Iran and show the Palestinians that the “resistance” camp is not their only viable path.

Apr 25, 2024

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Neomi Neumann
Devorah Margolin

◆ Risks and Opportunities in the Post-April 13 Middle East

Brief Analysis

Will Israel Find the Right Type of “Victory” in Gaza?

Officials are having to balance military realities, allied concerns, domestic public sentiment, and the calculations of Hamas, whose own leaders are fine with certain kinds of “defeat” so long as they can still influence Gaza.

Apr 5, 2024

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Neomi Neumann

Brief Analysis

The Imminent, Avoidable U.S.-Israel Rift Over Gaza

Alliance management in wartime is never easy, but bilateral disagreements over how to address humanitarian and postwar issues risk becoming an enduring feature of the relationship if left unresolved.

Apr 4, 2024

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David Makovsky

Supported by the

Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations

Through moments of hope and challenge in the Middle East diplomacy, The Washington Institute's Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations is committed to providing America's policymakers with timely analysis on issues of critical concern to Israel and its Arab neighbors.

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Featured experts

Ghaith al-Omari

Ghaith al-Omari is the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Irwin Levy Family Program on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Relationship.

David Makovsky

David Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations.

Dennis Ross

Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute.

Ehud Yaari

Ehud Yaari is the Lafer International Fellow at The Washington Institute.

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Peace Process

Policy Analysis on Peace Process

Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations

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Policy Analysis on Peace Process

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