Quarterly Updates

It was a relatively uneventful quarter for internal Palestinian politics. Pres. Abbas continued to consolidate power ahead of his expected retirement. The PA resumed its attempt to organize municipal elections, which had collapsed the previous quarter amid more Hamas-Fatah wrangling.

German chancellor Angela Merkel postponed indefinitely the Israeli-German summit scheduled for 5/10/2017, according to a report in Haaretz on 2/13.

After Russian pres. Vladimir Putin’s proposal to host peace talks between PA pres. Abbas and Israeli PM Netanyahu in Moscow fell through last quarter (see JPS 46 [2]), the Russian govt. backed away from the Israeli-Palestinian arena. PLO secy.-gen.

In his alacrity to build a positive relationship with the new U.S. pres., Netanyahu sparked a minor diplomatic crisis with Mexico. In reference to Trump’s loudly proclaimed intention to build a wall along the border with Mexico, on 1/28, the Israeli PM tweeted, “Pres. Trump is right.

Brasilia accepted the appointment of Yossi Shelli as Israeli amb. on 1/17, ending the diplomatic crisis set off by PM Netanyahu’s nomination of settler leader Dani Dayan to the post (see JPS 45 [2–4]).

UNRWA’s Financial Crisis

There was no meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Comm. this quarter. However, there was a steady stream of international aid pledged to the PA and the Palestinian people.

Boycott

Palestinian and Israeli casualty rates decreased slightly this quarter, reflecting a general decline in violence over the course of 2016 (see JPS 46 [1, 2]): 29 Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli actions (down from 32 last quarter), and 5 Israelis

On 2/7, Israel’s amb. to Ireland, Zeev Boker, sent a message to Jerusalem warning that Dublin planned to recognize Palestinian statehood.

In addition to organizing and hosting a peace conference in Paris on 1/15 (see “The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” above), the French govt. published (11/24) new regulations calling for the accurate labeling of goods imported from the oPt.

Three mos. after UK secy. of state for international development Priti Patel froze around a 3d of the UK’s annual aid to the Palestinians and ordered a review of funding procedures (see JPS 46 [2]), the Dept.

Neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis make any effort to resume peace negotiations this quarter. The Palestinians work with the outgoing U.S. admin. on a new UN Security Council (UNSC) res. condemning Israeli settlements; and the Israelis liaise with incoming U.S. pres.

As protests, random attacks, and resistance activities in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza continued to subside, this quarter the world’s attention turned to Washington, where outgoing U.S. pres. Barack Obama handed over to pres.-elect Trump. Ending mos.

Aside from working with the Palestinians to submit an anti-settlement res. to the UNSC on 12/21 (see “The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” above), the Egyptian govt. was largely absent from the Israeli-Palestinian arena this quarter.

Following mos. of interfactional tension and violence in ‘Ayn al-Hilweh r.c. (see JPS 45 [2]), the Lebanese army began constructing a new wall around the camp on 11/20.

The Israeli and Turkish govts. continued building on their 6/27/2016 reconciliation agreement this quarter.

Even before U.S. pres. Trump took office on 1/20, his allies in Israel and the U.S. Congress were preparing for a major shift in U.S.

Trump Shapes the Post-Obama Paradigm

In 1/2017, Netanyahu proposed to his cabinet that Israel join “Creative Europe,” an EU cultural and media initiative and grant-making organization, according to a Haaretz report on 1/29. Finance Min. Kahlon, Economy Min. Eli Cohen, and Culture and Sports Min.

The following data come from a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) on 8–10 December 2016. The results are based on a survey of 1,270 men and women from the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip.