What’s Next After Hamas’ Attack on Israel?

What’s Next After Hamas’ Attack on Israel?

Saturday, October 14, 2023

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

A week after Hamas’ heinous attack in southern Israel, the grim reality of a protracted war has set in. As of this writing, 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians, have been killed and Israeli officials believe as many as 150 hostages have been taken by Hamas. U.S. officials have said that 27 U.S. citizens were also killed. As Israel intensifies its operations in the Gaza Strip, 2,000 Palestinians have been killed. There are thousands of wounded on both sides. With Israel calling up 360,000 reservists, a cessation of hostilities seems a distant prospect.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Can Israel’s New Coalition ‘Change’ the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?

Can Israel’s New Coalition ‘Change’ the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?

Thursday, June 3, 2021

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

With minutes to spare before his mandate to form a coalition expired, Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s center-left Yesh Atid party, announced that he had formed a governing bloc. This announcement could usher in an Israeli government that, for the first time in 12 years, is not led by Benjamin Netanyahu. The down-to-the-wire negotiations befit the prior two years of Israeli political drama — with four elections held since April 2019. While this potentially portends a new, post-Netanyahu chapter in Israeli politics, it is unlikely that the ideologically disparate coalition cobbled together by Lapid —with Naftali Bennet, a hard-right politician, at its helm — will yield significant progress toward peace.

Type: Analysis

Peace ProcessesDemocracy & Governance

Plan for Gaza’s Future Highlights the Challenges That Lie Ahead

Plan for Gaza’s Future Highlights the Challenges That Lie Ahead

Thursday, February 29, 2024

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

The document that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented to his security cabinet for discussion on February 22 may be his first formal articulation of a postwar plan for Gaza, but is largely a compilation of views that have been expressed publicly over the past few months. Accordingly, it offers few surprises, but could deepen tensions between Israel on one side and the United States and regional stakeholders on the other. 

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Historic UAE-Israel Trade Deal Proves Abraham Accords' Resilience

Historic UAE-Israel Trade Deal Proves Abraham Accords' Resilience

Thursday, June 2, 2022

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

Nearly two years since the signing of the Abraham Accords — U.S.-brokered agreements normalizing Israeli relations with the UAE and Bahrain — the bilateral hope and promise encapsulated in that diplomatic achievement have borne fruit in several arenas. This is particularly the case between Israel and the UAE, underscored most recently by the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between the two countries on May 31. Indeed, the agreement follows a steady pace of warming ties and joint endeavors since the two countries agreed to normalize ties in 2020.

Type: Analysis

Global PolicyMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Biden’s Implicit Warning to Israelis and Palestinians

Biden’s Implicit Warning to Israelis and Palestinians

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

As a new government takes power in Israel, questions emerge about its collective ability and will to move the needle in a constructive direction on the ongoing occupation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The narrow coalition, spanning a broad political and ideological spectrum, consists of avowed opponents of a Palestinian state — Prime Minister Naftali Bennett among them — alongside staunch advocates for the two-state solution. The governing coalition also assumes its role in a divided society on several fronts following 12 consecutive years with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the helm.

Type: Analysis

Peace Processes

Does the Trump Administration’s Israeli-Palestinian Plan Offer a Path to Peace?

Does the Trump Administration’s Israeli-Palestinian Plan Offer a Path to Peace?

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

Yesterday, at an East Room gathering, President Trump, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unveiled his administration’s plan to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As promised at the outset of his remarks, the approach represents a vision “fundamentally different from past proposals.” The event itself—with the plan unveiled by U.S. and Israeli leadership—presented a visual that underscored this difference, and the challenge this plan faces if it is to chart a course to peace.

Type: Analysis

Peace Processes

As Vice President Pence Visits the Middle East, Hopes for Diplomacy Languish

As Vice President Pence Visits the Middle East, Hopes for Diplomacy Languish

Friday, January 19, 2018

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

Vice President Mike Pence heads to Egypt, Jordan and Israel with little diplomatic quiet, and even less hope, on the Israeli-Palestinian front. President Abbas has declared the Oslo peace process dead, and the U.S. mediating role over, President Trump has broken with international consensus on Jerusalem, and pointedly not endorsed a two-state solution since coming to office, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has now hedged on his commitment to the end goal of a Palestinian state.

Type: Analysis

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

What Does President Trump’s Decision on Jerusalem Mean for Israeli-Palestinian Peace?

What Does President Trump’s Decision on Jerusalem Mean for Israeli-Palestinian Peace?

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

Today, President Trump—for the second time while in office—exercised his waiver authority on the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act. The law calls for the United States Embassy, currently located in Tel Aviv, to be moved to Jerusalem, in recognition of that city as Israel’s capital. The choice to waive enactment in the name of national security interests hits the president’s desk every six months and, beginning with President Clinton in 1998, has been continuously exercised by each president. But this time was different.

Peace Processes