Peace Process

Policy Analysis on Peace Process

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

How Hamas Manipulates Gaza Fatality Numbers:

Examining the Male Undercount and Other Problems

International media and NGOs have repeated the group's figures without caveats, giving credence to suspicions of Israeli misconduct and fueling accusations of war crimes and even genocide.

Jan 25, 2024

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Gabriel Epstein

Articles & Testimony

For All That Changed, Hamas Is Still Hamas

Two decades after a landmark study on the group, it is clear that Hamas leaders never truly strayed from their core principle of prioritizing Israel’s destruction over the well-being of fellow Palestinians.

Jan 22, 2024

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Matthew Levitt

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

Brief Analysis

Domestic Disagreements Limit Netanyahu’s Options with Washington

The Israeli cabinet’s internal differences over war priorities, the PA’s role, and Arab diplomacy are affecting relations with the White House.

Jan 19, 2024

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David Makovsky

Secretary of State Antony Blinken places a tile that reads "Light in the darkness" on a wall at the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, October 14, 2023.

Brief Analysis

Not Day After, Day During: Blinken Visits Israel

His trip will not bridge all bilateral differences over the war, but its success can be measured by how it deals with urgent short-term issues while deferring key postwar matters.

Jan 8, 2024

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David Makovsky

Articles & Testimony

The Limits of U.S. Influence Over Israel

President Biden’s popularity with the Israeli public gives him leverage, but placing conditions on U.S. aid would likely backfire.

Dec 28, 2023

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Dennis Ross

Brief Analysis

Growing Internal Tensions Between Hamas Leaders

Kept in the dark about key aspects of the October 7 attack, the group’s external leaders are now jockeying for position in postwar arrangements that they may not have enough power to shape.

Dec 21, 2023

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Ehud Yaari
Matthew Levitt

Police walk past the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah

Brief Analysis

Why a West Bank Front Has Not Opened So Far

The older generation remains skeptical of what an intifada might achieve, but Israeli crackdowns and worsening economic conditions could still ignite younger Palestinians and undermine PA security cooperation.

Dec 13, 2023

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Neomi Neumann

Articles & Testimony

A Ceasefire Will Not End the Israel-Palestine Conflict

A bad peace that does not address the wider issue of Hamas violence would only defer the war to a later date.

Dec 9, 2023

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David Schenker

Articles & Testimony

Ending the War

Laying the groundwork for an eventual Hamas surrender would break the current binary choice between more destructive conflict and an ineffectual ceasefire.

Dec 1, 2023

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Robert Satloff
Dennis Ross

Chinese and U.S. flags flutter at a trade meeting in Shanghai

Brief Analysis

Why China Is Taking Sides Against Israel—and Why It Will Likely Backfire

Beijing’s sharply anti-Israel response to the Gaza conflict, prompted by its increased focus on challenging Washington, exposes the limits of its diplomatic reach in the Middle East and the broader tensions in its foreign policy strategy.

Nov 29, 2023

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Michael Singh

A masked Hamas fighter brandishes a rifle in Gaza - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

The Road to October 7: Hamas’ Long Game, Clarified

An in-depth look at the group’s post-2007 activities confirms that it was steadily preparing the ground (and the population) for war while lulling foreign officials into awaiting a moderation that would never come.

Oct-Nov 2023

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Devorah Margolin
Matthew Levitt

Photo of a Palestinian baby evacuated to an Israeli hospital during the 2023 Gaza war.

Articles & Testimony

How the Washington Post Turned a Feel-Good Story into an Anti-Israel Attack

Despite not taking the time to speak with Israeli officials or even verify key details on the ground, reporters proceeded with a heavily slanted piece that raised further questions about the paper’s wartime editorial policies.

Nov 21, 2023

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Robert Satloff

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Jewish Extremist Violence in the West Bank Could Trigger a Second Front

The combination of highly motivated young extremists on the ground, supportive far-right politicians back home, and ineffective local security measures may stoke a full-scale uprising if authorities continue to look the other way.

Nov 16, 2023

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Neomi Neumann

Articles & Testimony

How Israel Can Win the Other Gaza Battlefield: Public Opinion

Changing the minds of anti-Semites is a lost cause, but Israel can win over other critics by committing more effort and ingenuity to the task of saving innocent Palestinian lives.

Nov 2, 2023

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Robert Satloff
Dennis Ross

A memorial in Tel Aviv to the victims of the OCtober 7 Hamas terror attacks - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Hamas vs. Israel: The Limits of Analogy

What Hamas unleashed on October 7 was so jarring that it is only natural to seek the comfort of historical examples to put Israel’s response in some digestible context.

Oct 30, 2023

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Robert Satloff

Articles & Testimony

I Might Have Once Favored a Cease-Fire with Hamas, but Not Now

A perceived victory by the group will validate its ideology of rejection, give momentum to Iran and its collaborators, and foreclose the possibility of peace with Israel.

Oct 27, 2023

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Dennis Ross

Palestinians view an unexploded Israeli shell in Gaza

Articles & Testimony

The Collapse of Israel’s Hamas “Conceptzia”

The belief that Hamas would abandon ideology for economic gain led to disastrous consequences.

Oct 27, 2023

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David Makovsky

Palestinians throw stones near the West Bank border with Israel.

Brief Analysis

A Second Palestinian Front:

Relative Quiet, Restlessness, and Waiting

Palestinian residents of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, along with Arab Israelis, have not yet taken up Hamas’s call to join the fight, but amid increasing tensions, all sides must work diligently to preserve the fragile calm.

Oct 26, 2023

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Neomi Neumann

◆ Tracking International Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War

Palestians on a Mediterranean beach in Gaza

Articles & Testimony

Regime Change, Israeli-Style

The war triggered by the shocking Hamas assault will be the first zero-sum conflict in the Arab-Israeli arena since 1948, and U.S. policymakers should prepare accordingly.

Oct 23, 2023

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Robert Satloff

Articles & Testimony

How the Palestinian Authority Failed Its People

Even amid the fighting in Gaza, all actors should take steps to repair Palestinian governance instead of leaving a vacuum for radical remnants to fill.

Oct 19, 2023

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Ghaith al-Omari

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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