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71. The New Walls and Fences - Consequences for Israel and Palestine

Author:
Gershon Baskin and Sharon Rosenberg
Publication Date:
06-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
'Good fences make good neighbours' wrote the poet Robert Frost. Israel and Palestine are certainly not good neighbours and the question that arises is will a fence between Israel and Palestine turn them into 'good neighbours'. This paper deals with the Israeli decision to construct a fence that will divide Israel and the West Bank. Almost all public debate of the wall in Israel has been limited to the security aspects. In light of the success enjoyed so far by the wall or fence around the Gaza Strip in preventing suicide bombers from getting through, the defence for needing a similar wall around the West Bank seems like an easy task.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

72. Road Maps and Final Destinations for Israel and Palestine

Author:
Michael Emerson and Nathalie Tocci
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The Quartet was born at a meeting of foreign ministers in Madrid in April 2002, in response to Israeli army incursions into the Palestinian territories and in an attempt to give a fresh impetus to Western efforts to revive the lapsed Middle East peace process. The Quartet consists of the EU, Russia, the US and the United Nations. Given the relative passivity of the Russian and UN participants, the Quartet is effectively being driven by the US and the EU. While not yet successful in re-activating the peace process, it confirms in principle for the EU for the first time since the end of the Clinton period that the peace process is no longer the exclusive domain of the US, and that the US appears to welcome a more active European role as a political player, rather than just a payer of aid.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, and United Nations

73. Survey: Majority of Israelis and Palestinians Support Peace Proposal

Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
We conducted a survey on behalf of the International Crisis Group and the Baker Institute to gauge support among Israelis and Palestinians for a proposed peace accord.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, Ethnic Conflict, Politics, Regional Cooperation, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:
Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

74. A Cooperative Structure for Israeli-Palestinian relations

Author:
Bjørn Møller
Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
In the present paper, a sketch is offered of a possible resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a special view to how the European Union might help bring this about. Consideration is also given to the larger framework of a lasting peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

75. Nonviolent Voices in Israel and Palestine

Author:
Mohammed Abu-Nimer
Publication Date:
06-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
Abstract:
In addition to supporting an immediate cease-fire, moderates on both sides of the Middle East conflict should develop joint initiatives that acknowledge a shared sense of humanity. Cross-ethnic projects to provide aid to all victims of violence and interfaith efforts to acknowledge the loss of human lives on both sides would reduce complacency in the face of continued violence. Further, a popular, nonviolent campaign to promote compliance with human rights standards would strengthen civil and political participation and marginalize the radicals.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

76. The Aftermath of the Israeli-Palestinian War of 2002

Author:
Arie Kacowicz
Publication Date:
06-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
Abstract:
Recent public opinion polls in Israel indicate substantial support for several proposals for a long-term resolution of the conflict. Combining these proposals into a single scheme would thus produce a formula for future negotiations with broad political support. This formula should include an Israeli declaration of acceptance in principle of the Saudi initiative, Israel's unilateral disengagement from 85% of the West Bank and the entire Gaza Strip, the creation of an international trusteeship regime in the West Bank and Gaza during a three-year transition to a Palestinian state, the deployment of multinational peacekeeping forces, and bilateral negotiations on the core issues of the conflict.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Human Rights, and War
Political Geography:
Israel and Palestine

77. Exit Neo-Nazism: Reducing Recruitment and Promoting Disengagement from Racist Groups

Author:
Tore Bjørgo
Publication Date:
06-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Young persons belonging to various types of right-wing extremist groups commit a large proportion of xenophobic and racist attacks. Measures against racial violence should therefore include interventions that reduce and (preferably) dissolve such groups. To be effective, this requires knowledge about how such groups emerge and operate, and in particular, on processes of recruitment and disengagement. Through early intervention, it is possible to reduce recruitment of new members to racist youth groups, and also facilitate (early) disengagement for those who are already involved with the group. Although most members of racist groups leave sooner or later, it is important that they quit sooner rather than later—before they hurt others, and before they have internalised a racist world-view and a violent pattern of behaviour. The article describes reasons for why some young people join racist groups; factors and circumstances that cause most of them eventually to consider disengaging; and what prevents some of them from doing so. The Exit project was started to develop methods and strategies for reducing recruitment and facilitating disengagement from racist groups. Beginning in Norway in 1996–97, the Exit approach was subsequently adopted and developed further in Sweden, with strong results. From there, the Exit approach spread on to Germany, where there are now a number of private and staterun initiatives to promote disengagement from neo-Nazi groups. There are also Exit initiatives in several other European countries.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Europe, Palestine, Germany, and Sweden

78. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Historical and Prospective Intervention Analyses

Author:
Bruce D. Jones
Publication Date:
05-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
As we enter 2003, the Israeli-Palestinian context is defined by a series of inter- related phenomena: a continuing loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives; political turbulence (and some convergence) in Israel; progress, after much debate, on the question of reform and Chairman Arafat's leadership; a factional struggle for dominance of Palestinian popular politics; devastation of the Palestinian economy, and a lesser but still damaging corrosion of the Israeli economy; and public attitudes on both sides defined by the concept of “tactical hawks, strategic doves”—but with trends showing a worrying erosion of support for peaceful solutions. The international context is defined by growing consensus on substantive issues among international, Arab, and some U.S. officials; some remaining tactical and presentational differences within this group; a rise of anti-Semitic and anti-Arab attitudes; and uncertainty about the consequences of regime change in Iraq. The combination—alongside President Bush's decision to publish the Road Map following the confirmation of the new Palestinian Cabinet—potentially represents a turning point.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

79. Old Games, New Rules: Conflict on the Israel-Lebanon Border

Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The Israel-Lebanon border is the only Arab-Israeli front to have witnessed continuous violence since the late 1960s and it could become the trigger for a broader Arab-Israeli conflict. Yet, in recent times it has been the object of very little international focus. Amidst raging warfare between Israelis and Palestinians and mounting war-talk surrounding Iraq, there is scant energy to devote to a conflict that, since Israel's May 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon, appears devoid of justification and which neither of its principal protagonists seems interested in escalating. But ignoring it could be costly. Neither its roots nor its implications have ever been purely local. Israel's withdrawal has lessened the immediate costs but in some ways rendered the problem more unpredictable. Stripped of its cover as an Israeli-Lebanese border dispute, it has laid bare both the underlying Israeli-Syrian confrontation and Iran's involvement in the conflict.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Iran, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, Lebanon, and Syria

80. Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Getting By with a Little Help from its Friends

Author:
Matthew Levitt
Publication Date:
09-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Prior to September 2000, the track record of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist attacks featured more failed and small-scale operations than successful or substantial ones; at the time, Hamas overshadowed PIJ in terms of terrorist activity. Yet, PIJ's profile has changed since then. In August 2001, Israel listed three PIJ members among its seven most-wanted terrorists, compared to one member each from Hamas, Force 17, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). In October 2001, PIJ secretary general Ramadan Abdullah Shallah asserted, "With the grace of God and the blessing of the blood martyrs, the Islamic Jihad movement is in the best condition it has ever been in," highlighting "its jihadist effectiveness and qualitative operations." PIJ solidified its reputation in the annals of the current Palestinian intifada with the April 2002 standoff in Jenin. Thaabat Mardawi, a senior PIJ commander in Jenin arrested in the course of Israel's Operation Defensive Shield, proudly described the PIJ-led battle against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to a CNN interviewer: "It was like hunting . . . like being given a prize. I couldn't believe it when I saw the soldiers. The Israelis knew that any soldier who went into the camp like that was going to get killed. I've been waiting for a moment like that for years." PIJ's moment has indeed come; by all accounts, the group will remain a dominant and destructive factor for the foreseeable future.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution
Political Geography:
United States, Middle East, Palestine, and Arab Countries