Israel and the Palestinian Territories
For 70 years, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has affected the Middle East landscape. A comprehensive diplomatic solution has defied international efforts, leaving publics disillusioned about the prospect of peace. Through analysis, dialogue and joint action at the policy, institutional and grassroots levels, the United States Institute of Peace works to strengthen diplomatic peacemaking efforts; enhance community security for Israelis and Palestinians; empower Palestinian and Israeli civil society actors to build trust within and between their societies and build institutional capabilities that prepare the ground for a just, peaceful and sustainable solution to the conflict.
Learn more in USIP’s fact sheet on The Current Situation: Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
Featured Publications
Why Biden Should Prioritize Preserving the Two-State Solution
The Biden administration came into office facing a host of pressing domestic and foreign policy challenges. And while issues like a rising China, the Iran nuclear deal, and the COVID pandemic will dominate the new administration’s agenda, it should not lose sight of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen on Israel’s Political Crisis
As Israel heads toward a fourth elections in two years, USIP’s Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen says the incoming Biden administration will need to engage in a “balancing act” to “navigate this situation and not start off with a rocky, tempestuous relationship.”
Normalizing Sudan-Israel Relations Now is a Dangerous Game
With the UAE and Bahrain having joined Egypt and Jordan in declaring peace with Israel, those asking “who’s next?” often look enthusiastically westward, toward Khartoum. Adding new chapters to the Abraham Accords is in the U.S. interest, but so is a successful transition in Sudan. And the sequence of these steps is critical. A unified Sudanese government with a popular mandate will be better able to forge a warm and sustainable peace with Israel, whereas a rushed Israeli-Sudanese agreement has the potential to unravel Sudan’s transition and generate renewed support for Sudan’s Islamists and their foreign backers.