Quarterly Updates

U.S. pres. Donald Trump continues working on a largely undefined peace initiative with little success. Violence in the Old City of Jerusalem interrupts U.S. diplomatic efforts and the Israeli govt. imposes new security measures at Haram al-Sharif.

Boycott

There were only a handful of announcements of new international aid for the Palestinians this quarter.

Israeli PM Netanyahu continued his outreach efforts in Africa this quarter. On the sidelines of an Economic Community of West African States summit in Liberia on 6/4, he met with Senegalese pres. Macky Sall, and they agreed to resume full diplomatic relations.

With Trump’s peace initiative stalling, Chinese pres. Xi Jinping signaled a new willingness to enter the Palestinian-Israeli arena. During a joint press conference with PA pres.

Israel and New Zealand restored diplomatic relations this quarter, ending their mos.-long conflict over Wellington’s support for UN Security Council Resolution 2334 in 12/2016 (see JPS 46 [2]).

The U.S. and Israel mobilized against 2 Palestinian-backed measures at the annual meeting of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Comm., which took place in Kraków, Poland, on 7/2–12. Despite their efforts, the comm.

Intelligence Breakdown

Iranian pres. Hassan Rouhani was elected to a second term on 5/19, winning 58.6% of the vote in what many saw as a referendum on his reformist platform and Iran’s 7/14/2015 nuclear deal with the P5+1 (the U.S., UK, China, Russia, France, and Germany).

Kicking off his first international trip as U.S. president, Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia on 5/20–22. He met with King Salman and the leaders of various other Arab states, called on “Muslim nations” to “take on the burden” of defeating terrorism, and signed an agreement to sell $110 b.

This quarter witnessed a series of machinations that threatened regional stability and escalated the conflict between Iran and its growing sphere of influence, on the one hand, and the Saudi Arabia-led Sunni axis, on the other.

Persistent tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border led to a minor diplomatic conflict in late-6/2017. The dir. of Israel’s military intelligence, Maj. Gen.

The IDF continued to interfere in the Syrian civil war this quarter, particularly during one significantly violent week in late 6/2017.

Jordan played a key role in the crisis at Haram al-Sharif in 7/2017.

Cairo was in a unique position this quarter at the nexus of otherwise marginally related trends. On the one hand, Pres.

The following data come from a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) between 6/29–7/1/2017. The results are based on a survey of 1,200 Palestinians from the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip.

DISCORD AND STRIFE

U.S. pres. Donald Trump attempted to advance his Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative this quarter, traveling to the region on his first major international trip as president. While both the Israeli govt.

The flare-up of violence in response to the new Israeli security measures at Haram al-Sharif in 7/2017 led to the first significant quarterly increase in the number of Palestinian and Israeli casualties in over a year.