The Peace Process

Spotlight on the Israel-Palestinian Conflict (April 1 –7, 2025)

IDF forces continued operations targeting the military capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in the northern Gaza Strip, the Rafah area and along the Morag Axis in the south, ordering the evacuation of entire areas. Terrorist operatives were eliminated, some of whom were hiding in civilian buildings. Rocket fire at Israeli territory continued; nine people were injured; Hamas opposed Israeli demands in the negotiations for renewing the ceasefire and releasing the hostages. The spokesperson for the Hamas military wing stated half of the hostages had been deliberately left in the combat zones; Isolated protests continued against the ongoing war and calling for an end to Hamas rule. The family of a young Palestinian who was shot by a Hamas police officer responded by killing the officer; A study by a British research institute found that the names of thousands of alleged Palestinian fatalities disappeared from the records of the Hamas-controlled ministry of health in Gaza; According to reports, Egypt is formulating a new framework through which it would assume responsibility for administering the Gaza Strip for one year, followed by a five-year transitional period of Egyptian security rule in coordination with an international force; Israeli security forces continued extensive counterterrorism operations in Judea and Samaria. Read more...

Mahmoud Abbas’s address to the UN Security Council: Rhetoric versus reality

On February 11, 2020, Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas delivered an address before the UN Security Council as part of the PA’s diplomatic campaign against the Trump plan . Mahmoud Abbas’s address was softened and aimed mainly at Western ears: he avoided threatening to harm relations with Israel or dismantle the PA (threats that he and senior officials in the PA have made on several occasions). Read more...

Initial Palestinian reactions to the “deal of the century” (Updated to February 2, 2020)

On January 28, 2020, Donald Trump, in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, revealed his plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, called "Peace to Prosperity" (i.e., the "deal of the century"). The plan met with strong opposition and (as expected) led to a wave of Palestinian condemnations. The Palestinian Authority (PA) began making preparations for a diplomatic and media campaign to place obstacles in the path of the plan and to undermine its legitimacy. Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 31 – August 6, 2019)

On Friday, August 2, 2019, the return march in the Gaza Strip was held with about 6,000 participants (the average for the past weeks). Hamas security operatives were photographed removing young Palestinians from the region of the fence. On August 1, 2019, the day before the return march, a Palestinian crossed the security fence east of Khan Yunis. A committee met in the Palestinian Authority (PA) to implement Mahmoud Abbas's decision to stop acting in accordance with agreements signed with Israel. Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (September 19 – 26, 2017)

This past week there was a shooting attack near Har Adar, an Israeli community west of Jerusalem. The terrorist killed three Israelis and seriously wounded another. Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have not condemned the attack so far. A delegation of senior Hamas figures headed by Musa Abu Marzouq visited Moscow and met with Russian officials. Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 26 – August 1, 2017)

After two weeks, the Temple Mount crisis came to an end. Before the afternoon prayers on July 27, 2017, a large number of flag-waving Palestinians broke into the Temple Mount compound and clashed with Israeli security forces. About 50 Palestinians were injured. Read more...

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The Peace Process

Over the years, the parties involved have come to recognize the fact that the conflict with the Palestinians cannot be resolved through armed struggle, and that new channels must be found, mainly a political process, at the end of which a political solution to the conflict with the Palestinians will be reached. At the time of the signing of the Camp David Accords, Israel and Egypt also established the first framework for the structure of the political process between Israel and the Palestinians. Later, this became a peace process in the framework of the Oslo Accords. The nature of the political process has undergone changes over the years in accordance with the circumstances and the interests of the various parties.

The transition to the political process opened a new chapter in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The PLO and Israel recognized each other (although the PLO and the Palestinians refrain from recognizing Israel as the state of the Jewish People), Israel withdrew from many territories and handed them over to the Palestinian Authority, which established its rule in the framework of the political process in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip (until Hamas’s military coup in 2007 against the Palestinian Authority’s rule in the Gaza Strip). The political process is ultimately supposed to bring the parties to a permanent settlement and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.

The political process currently centers around six main issues (the core issues): permanent borders, security arrangements between the parties, the status of the Palestinian refugees, control over Jerusalem, the division of water resources, and the Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. Today, the Palestinian Authority is waging a political struggle against Israel (as opposed to a political process) that is accompanied by the so-called popular resistance movement (i.e., popular terrorism).

Throughout the years, the process has been accompanied by a terrorist campaign on the part of its opponents. This is because some Palestinians still deny the very existence of the State of Israel and reject any attempt to resolve the conflict through a political process, and call for the establishment of a Palestinian state on all the territory of Israel through an armed struggle.