Policy Analysis

Nur Arafeh from our partner Al Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network, has prepared a policy brief on the collapse of the economy in East Jerusalem. Her study’s focus is on the tourism sector and the markets in the old city of Jerusalem. Starting with a chronological and comparative analysis of the decline in these two sectors Nur Arafeh continues to offer a comprehensive account of already existing civil society strategies to encourage Palestinians to remain resilient against the growing restrictions. Furthermore, she stresses the need to develop a common approach on envisioning the kind of Jerusalem Palestinians would want to promote and live in.     

Muwatin is holding its 22nd Annual Conference on Friday 30/9/2016 and Saturday 1/10/2016 at Birzeit University, titled 'The Complex Challenges Facing Palestinian Universities: Is there a Way Out?', and funded by hbs.

Which Jerusalem? – This question was raised in a Böll Debate on July 12 2016 in the Meeting Room of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Ramallah. The discussion was based on a policy brief presentend by the excellent young expert Ms. Nur Arafeh, Policy fellow of Al Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network. In her paper she had researched “Israel’s Little Known Master Plans for Jerusalem”, which aim to develop the city exclusively for the Jewish people and to further marginalize the Palestinian population.

Two years after the last devastating war on Gaza, the situation in the impoverished strip remains grim and hopeless. Gaza’s population of almost 2 million predominantly young people is still suffering the ramifications of this war. Moreover ten years of blockade have left them in destitution. Lack of clean drinking water, recurring and daily electricity cuts, delays in reconstruction and a decade-long isolation from the world has brought the population to the brink of despair. The Association of International Development Agencies in Jerusalem is therefore calling on world leaders to press for an immediate lifting of the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Hbs Palestine and Jordan is part of the AIDA network. Please find below a short video on the plight of Gazans, the AIDA press release and the link to a petition, calling for the end of the siege on Gaza.

NGOs are currently facing growing problems worldwide - and not only in non-democratic states. Governments increasingly target NGOs that work in the field of Human Rights, Justice, Democracy and Social and Environmental Rights. Barbara Unmuessig, president of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, explores in her landmark article the shrinking space for NGOS, which to some degree, threatens to affect our work in Palestine too.

Dead Sea cosmetics, Jordan valley dates and peppers from the northern Westbank – these Israeli products sell well in Europe. But as they are produced in illegal settlements in the occupied Westbank the EU has decided to put a label on them. Consumers can now decide whether they want to buy them or not. Critics suggest that this could impair Palestinian workers earning a living in Israeli settlements. Palestinian researcher Nur Arafeh, a partner of Heinrich-Boell-Foundation in Ramallah, disputes this thesis. Her article was first published on Le Monde Diplomatique.

By Thimna Bunte: In March 2015 the Heinrich-Boell-Foundation joined support for a speaking tour during the week of the “Open Shuhada Street” campaign Since 1994, the formerly flourishing Shuhada Street in Hebron’s historic centre is turned increasingly into a ghost street. It became a symbol for Israel’s policy of Human Rights violations and segregation in the occupied Palestinian territories. In this situation, Youth Against Settlements (YAS) advocates in nonviolent ways for Human Rights and equality in Hebron. One of the cornerstones of their work consists of the “Open Shuhada Street” campaign that takes place each year in February. Abed Salayma, activist of Youth Against Settlements, and Mufid Sharabati, resident of Shuhada Street, traveled to Germany this February in order to carry out a Speaking Tour (or, as the group calls it, a “SpeAction tour” as it involves some elements other than speaking as well). They talked about the Human Rights situation in Hebron, their approach of nonviolent resistance and what people in Germany can do to support their cause.

While many in Israel were hoping for Netanyahu's electoral defeat, Palestinians were more reserved. They now expect the international community to exert more pressure on Israel..

Article by Michelle Pace & René Wildangel Without radical policy change new violence will erupt in 2015 and Gaza will become unlivable. Meanwhile Israel is relieved of any responsibility as an occupying power under international law for the UN’s Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism.

Rumour has it ... the new Perspectives is out! They are only 'hot air' but anyone who has been affected by rumours is familiar with their unhallowed dynamics, and the serious consequences they can entail. Rumours fulfil social functions. They serve as a medium through which unfulfilled hopes or unspecific fears can be voiced. They bond and drive a wedge between people and population groups at the same time. They can destroy reputations, credibility and even lives. Read here twelve experts from the MENA region discussing the topic!