Project on Middle East Democracy

Project on Middle East Democracy
The POMED Wire Archives


Category: Hamas

Palestine: Reconciliation Talks Continue, U.S. Boosts Aid for PA

November 10th, 2010 by Anna

Hamas and Fatah representatives met for a second round of reconciliation talks in Damascus yesterday, focusing on issues regarding control of the Palestinian security and governance apparatus. A Fatah authority said: “We realize that reconciliation is a national Palestinian interest.”

Today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the U.S. will give the Palestinian Authority an additional $150 million in aid. The increased funding is an apparent effort to boost the PA’s budget. She added that a “positive outcome” is still possible in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, in spite of a recent deadlock.


Posted in Foreign Aid, Hamas, Palestine, Political Parties | Comment »

Palestine: Services Worsen in Some Areas, Improve in Others

October 28th, 2010 by Anna

The Christian Science Monitor reports today on a “protracted disagreement” between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority over who will pay Gaza’s electricity bills. The standoff means that “for Gaza residents, [the] deep Palestinian divide…not only prevents peace, but literally leaves them in the dark.” Although the European Union used to buy fuel for Gaza from an Israeli supplier, the Palestinians have been paying the bills since December 2009. Now, both sides contend that the other has mishandled tax revenue and international funding: while PA spokesman Ghassan Khatib claims that poor bill collection by Gaza officials has meant that the Hamas-led government pays very little, Gaza Electrical Distribution Company spokesman Usama Dabbour says that Gazans cannot afford to pay the bills. In the meantime, residents of Gaza continue to deal with blackouts and other failures in public service provision on a regular basis.

On a more positive note, USAID released a brief statement today announcing the conclusion of the five-year NETHAM (”Order”) Rule of Law program in the West Bank and Gaza. The program sought to strengthen rule of law in the Palestinian territories by upgrading Notary Public Departments in the West Bank, training judges and judicial staff, streamlining the process for issuing various routine certificates to Palestinians, and providing additional resources to the Al-Quds University School of Law.


Posted in Civil Society, Hamas, Palestine | Comment »

POMED Notes: “19th Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference”

October 22nd, 2010 by Jason

The National Council on US-Arab Relations held its 19th annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference on Thursday. Opening remarks were made by Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and CEO of the National Council on US-Arab Relations and Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen, chairman of the Board of Directors at the National Council on US-Arab Relations. The first talk on the agenda was entitled “Arab-US Relations: Misadventures Past and Present,” and was given by The Honorable Chas W. Freeman Jr., former Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of Defense.

 (To read full notes, continue below the fold or go here for pdf.)

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Posted in DC Event Notes, Diplomacy, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Military, Neocons, Political Parties, Sectarianism, Terrorism, US foreign policy | Comment »

Palestine: Is the PA Creating a Security State?

October 19th, 2010 by Jason

Matt Duss, writing at Foreign Policy’s Middle East Channel, asks if a “focus on security at the expense of democracy does generate bad consequences […] why are we doing it again in Palestine?” As Duss explains, the West’s confidence in Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has become pervasive and possibly dangerous. Fayyad assumed power under a “state of emergency” that Duss says “resembles Egypt’s,” which brings the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) legitimacy into question. Duss also reports that the government is allowing “Salafi prayer leaders” into the West Bank, as long as they “direct their rhetorical fire away from the PA and Abbas’ Fatah Party, and toward Fatah’s political opponents, primarily Hamas.” Duss explains the historical parallels between this current development and the rise of Hamas, while noting that peaceful political activity is being suppressed by the PA: “…activists have now found that any association with a disfavored political orientation is enough to make them targets of repression.” Duss concludes that “Political freedom is not a peripheral concern in Palestine — it is central to the U.S. goal of a functioning, viable, and democratic Palestinian state at peace with Israel. The Obama administration must not allow itself, in the interest of an illusive stability, to keep kicking the can down the road, and oversee the creation of yet another security state in the Middle East.”


Posted in Foreign Aid, Freedom, Hamas, Islamist movements, Palestine, Political Parties, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Notes: “The Ayatollahs’ Democracy: An Iranian Challenge”

October 14th, 2010 by Jason

The New America Foundation (NAF) held an event today marking the release of Hooman Majd’s new book, “The Ayatollahs’ Democracy: An Iranian Challenge.” Majd was introduced by Steve Clemons, Senior Fellow and Director of the American Strategy Program at NAF.

 (To read full notes, continue below the fold or go here for pdf)

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Posted in DC Event Notes, Elections, Freedom, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam, Protests, Public Opinion, Reform, US foreign policy, sanctions | Comment »

Egypt: Will Discontent Translate Into Political Action?

October 6th, 2010 by Jason

There have only been 80 political protests in Egypt this year and only a “handful” of those have been in support of Mohammed ElBaradei’s National Association for Change, writes   in Al-Masry Al-Youm. She compares the current dearth of protest with the outpouring of action seen in 2005. “Then the opposition was not restricted to a bunch of intellectuals. It spread to professional groups that seized the momentum […] and voiced political and economic demands in a country where at least 20 percent of the population languish in poverty.” El-Hennawy suggests that the initial space opened by the Bush Administration’s exertion of pressure on the Mubarak regime to democratize closed after the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in the Occupied Territories were more successful than expected. Amr Hamzawy is quoted in the piece as saying, “In 2010, we have more social protest activities over bread and butter issues than in 2005. This is not happening at the expense of political mobilization but it is part of it.”

Not all protests have been over “bread and butter” issues, however. In recent weeks, students have been arrested for handing out leaflets, staging exhibitions about the possible succession of Gamal Mubarak, and working to gather signatures for ElBaradei’s Seven Reforms. (Arabic sources here, here, here) The crackdown on students at universities is especially troubling considering the US provides 50 million dollars a year in education assistance to Egypt (USAID budget pg. 207).


Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Hamas, Protests, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Between Religion and Politics”

September 29th, 2010 by Jason

An event was held today at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace celebrating the release of the book “Between Religion and Politics”, coauthored by Amr Hamzawy and Nathan Brown. Marwan Muasher acted as the moderator for the event, where the authors explained the process they utilized in the researching of the book and explored, in depth, the case studies of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)

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Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Hamas, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestine, Political Islam, Public Opinion, Reform | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Towards A Palestinian State : Is Institution Building Succeeding?”

September 29th, 2010 by Anna

On Wednesday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the United States Institute of Peace co-hosted a panel discussion titled “Towards a Palestinian State: Is Institution Building Succeeding?” The discussion was moderated by Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, a Program Officer in USIP’s Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution. The panelists were Nathan Brown, a Nonresident Senior Associate of the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment, Neil Kritz, the Senior Scholar in Residence in the Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution at USIP, Ghaith Al-Omari, Advocacy Director at the American Task Force on Palestine, and Howard Sumka, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Middle East for USAID.

For the full notes, continue reading below. Or, click here for the PDF.

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Posted in DC Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Hamas, Judiciary, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »

Palestine: Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation Best Response to Israel’s Moratorium End

September 27th, 2010 by Anna

According to Deutsche Press-Agentur, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal stated today that reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas will be the best response to the end of Israel’s moratorium on settlement building in the West Bank. In his view, internal Palestinian reconciliation will give negotiators the necessary clout in peace talks with Israel. He called on Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to pursue that reconciliation, and also to make good on his threat to walk out on peace talks if the construction moratorium expired. Abbas has so far not announced whether he will continue to participate in the talks.

Meshaal has been meeting with Fatah’s Azzam al-Ahmad in Damascus (where Meshaal lives in exile), and indicated today that full reconciliation between the two factions may come soon. He said that “serious and real steps” have been taken towards ending divisions, and the two sides plan to meet again in Cairo in the coming weeks.


Posted in Hamas, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Political Parties | Comment »

Palestine: Is Fayyidism Viable?

September 21st, 2010 by Jason

“Relying on ‘Fayyadism’…alone will likely lead to failure and disappointment. Technocratic management can probably keep Palestinian institutions afloat and even improve their functioning in some limited ways. But it does not even pretend to offer a solution for the deeper problems afflicting Palestinian politics—division, repression, occupation, alienation, and wide-reaching institutional decay.” This was the conclusion of a paper by Nathan J. Brown two months ago. In a recent article at Carnegie Comment, Brown responds to questions about, and criticisms of, that paper.

The first criticism Brown takes on is the assertion that “limited state building” is the best that can be achieved in the present circumstances. Brown agrees that the situation is “impossible,” but focuses his response on the prevailing wisdom that Fayyidism is the key to state building in the West Bank. “Fayyad’s accomplishments, like his virtues, are real… The real political damage is done when those accomplishments are treated not as a way to keep Palestinian politics on life support but as a cure for the underlying diseases,” which he diagnosis’s as “Hamas, Gaza, authoritarianism, and political decay…” along with a broken legislative process.

Brown goes on to address questions about the reach of Fayyidism, whether its popularity makes it democratic, and why Fayyidism has gained so much support if its ability to effect real change is so limited. In a reveling passage, Brown tries to lay out an alternative to Fayyidism: “The existing approach, based on an assumption that a comprehensive Israeli–Palestinian agreement can be negotiated and then used as a device for ousting Hamas from control of Gaza is implausible… An approach that takes Palestinian politics seriously and prioritizes rather than postpones the issues of Gaza and Hamas would be difficult in its design… But at least it would be grounded in the realities of today rather than pretending that the conditions of the 1990s…still obtain.”


Posted in Civil Society, Hamas, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Political Parties, Public Opinion | Comment »

Palestine: “Significant Progress” in State Building

September 15th, 2010 by Jason

In an interview with Middle East Progress, Dr. Robert Dannin addresses the progress that has been made in the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority and the prospects for peace with the Israelis. Having recently returned from a post with the Office of the Quartet Representative, Dannin says, “I’m left with a real sense that a majority of the people wants peace and yet they are almost without hope. There is a strong sense of mutual betrayal.” He goes on to emphasize the importance of “…conditioning the public and the environment for what is possible and what may be necessary, in terms of compromises, to achieve peace.”

With regards to the state building measures underway in the West Bank, Dannin sees “significant progress” in a number of different areas. “[I]n 2008 important progress occurred in a number of areas, including but not limited to the economy, where widespread growth and private sector development occurred, and in the development and professionalization of the security forces, and their ability to bring stability and law and order to some rather difficult areas within a circumscribed and orderly chain of command.” In fact, the PA and the IMF estimate economic growth in the West Bank to be “…anywhere from seven to eight percent this year,” and possibly higher. Dannin identifies “budget shortfalls” as one of the major problems facing the PA, along with the separation from Hamas-controlled Gaza and the continuing occupation by Israel.

Dannin calls the recent PA crackdowns on dissent and the concurrent criticisms “overstated”, while noting that “Not that long ago, there was a situation of semi-chaos in the West Bank […]  That is no longer the case.” He admits that there have been rights abuses, but contends that the PA has been “responsive” to the charges and is making progress on reforms in that area.


Posted in Foreign Aid, Freedom, Hamas, Human Rights, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine | Comment »

Palestine: Concentrate on Leadership First, Negotiations Second

September 2nd, 2010 by Jason

With negotiations set to begin today in Washington between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, members of the Palestinian community are calling on their leaders to resolve internal disputes. In an interview with Reuters, influential Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti emphasized the need for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas and the importance of this reconciliation to the peace process: “The problem is not in the principle of negotiations, which we accept, but that without a popular foundation and action on the ground which supports negotiations, they will not reach any results.” This feeling is echoed by Hani Almadhoum who writes that he is not surprised by the “cynicism” of the Palestinian people: “…in the past five years, when was the last time you heard of a Palestinian leader giving a key speechthe kind of speech that inspired a national dialogue?…I cannot remember such a day…Such banality is dangerous.” Almadhoum goes on to describe the governments in both Gaza and the West Bank as “managers”, capable of hanging on, but not much else: “…managers worry about their respective departments. Leaders worry about the whole unit. We need both decent leaders and wise managers to go hand in hand in an increasingly complex and volatile political and economical (sic) situation.”


Posted in Hamas, Palestine, Political Parties, Reform | Comment »

Palestine: Losing Democracy

August 13th, 2010 by Farid

A new piece in The Economist offers an assessment of Palestinian democracy, arguing that “instead of building a democratic state, the PA is fast on its way to creating just another Arab autocracy.” The article says that while many observers criticize Salam Fayyad’s promise of institution-building, most Western governments “prefer division and no elections to reconciliation and elections,” as they are wary of Islamist rule under Hamas. According to the piece, both halves of Palestine are “remarkably similar” in terms of governance, since “Hamas and Mr Fayyad rule by decree, merging executive and legislative arms into one.” Regarding Palestinian participation in the political process, the article observes, “Opinion polls say most Palestinians are more or less willing to put up with their muzzled lot, since they have been exhausted by their own intifadas (uprisings), by Israeli repression and by periodic chaos.” The piece notes that some advocate the status quo, while following the Jordanian example by suspending parliament and ruling by decree in order to guarantee stability and prevent threats to Israel. However, such an approach means “putting off the task of reuniting the West Bank and Gaza and building a single Palestine state,” and will lead people to “consider other, more violent” measures to achieve change, the article warns, citing the example of Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader who lost his faith in democratic change following Western governments’ refusal to recognize Hamas’s electoral victory in 2006.


Posted in Hamas, Palestine, Political Parties, Reform | Comment »

No Democracy for Palestine?

July 16th, 2010 by Jennifer

Jonathan Schanzer and Asaf Romirowsky writing for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) question the future of democracy in Palestine. Noting that the Palestinian Authority (PA) decided last month to indefinitely postpone West Bank municipal elections that were scheduled for this Saturday, July 17, Schanzer and Romirowsky observe that ruling party Fatah’s motivation for the cancellation was that leaders could not agree on the candidates they wanted to field, but more importantly, that they “feared another electoral humiliation” similar to the one suffered at the hands of Hamas in 2006. Arguing that the civil war between Hamas and Fatah “puts the Palestinians in a state of limbo” the authors suggest that the current situation reverses a once-growing trend of Palestinian democratic tradition. In that light, they ask, “How can the U.S., in good faith, sponsor a state that would not be a functioning democracy? If the Obama administration wants to continue to hold out hope for Palestinian statehood, it must find a way to revive the flat-lining Palestinian political system.”


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Elections, Hamas, Palestine, Political Parties, US foreign policy | Comment »

Palestine: “If You Build The State, It Will Come”

June 18th, 2010 by Farid

In a very interesting new piece in Foreign Policy, Hussein Ibish diverts the general attention from the Gaza flotilla to Palestinian domestic developments. According to Ibish, Palestinian financers are have been meeting in Bethlehem for the second Palestine Investment Conference, “in which Palestinians are increasingly turning to the mundane, workaday tools of governance and development as their principal strategy for ending the occupation.”

Most notable of these domestic developments is the commitment to build institutions in order to enhance state administration, infrastructure, and economic goals. “The idea is that, if you build the state, it will come,” says Ibish. Ibish argues that by depending on a bottom-up strategy rather than waiting for American and Israeli commitment to a Palestinian state, Palestinians are able to determine their own future. The motivation is very simple, Ibish argues – self-determination and self-governance.

According to Ibish, there are significant tangible developments: the establishment of two new telecommunication companies, the first planned Palestinian city, and a growth rate of 8.5 percent in the West Bank last year. Additionally, half of the Palestinian Authority’s budget comes from Palestinian taxes rather than international economic support, he explains. Nevertheless, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are still in disagreement over the Palestinian identity and objectives and “the future of Hamas will likely be determined by the success or failure of the PA’s state-building project, and its diplomatic efforts,” Ibish explains.

However, Ibish’s assessment of the future is not entirely reliant on the domestic political forces in Palestine. Instead he argues that according to the World Bank and IMF, the development and prospects for a viable state are limited as long as Israeli occupation of the territories continues.


Posted in Hamas, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine | Comment »

Palestine: The Need for Institution Building

June 7th, 2010 by Farid

In the context of the Gaza flotilla crisis, Michele Dunne argues in an interesting new Carnegie Endowment paper that American strategy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been short-term with traits of neglect and manipulation of the domestic Palestinian political sphere. Instead, the U.S. should take a strategic approach by encouraging an all-inclusive political establishment where competition is welcomed rather than ignored or rejected. Click here for the full PDF version of the paper.

This does not mean that the U.S. should negotiate directly with Hamas, which Dunne says would have “the unfortunate effect of validating the group’s violent and rejectionist tactics.” However, she argues that the United States must “develop a strategy that patiently supports Palestinian institution building and tolerates the internal Palestinian political competition and bargaining that must accompany it.”

Daoud Kuttab, Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University, voices a different argument, asserting that Hamas should be included in the peace negotiations. Nevertheless, Kuttab recognizes that while Hamas has recently shown willingness to commit to a long-term cease-fire, it must agree to a complete cease-fire for talks to proceed.


Posted in Diplomacy, Hamas, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Political Parties, US foreign policy | Comment »

West Bank: Fayyad Sets Date for Local Elections, Receives Call for Internal Reshuffle

April 28th, 2010 by Josh

In spite of strong push-back from Hamas and other Islamists in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s government recently signed off on local council elections in the West Bank, scheduled to take place on July 17. This will be the first attempt at elections on any level since the cancellation of presidential and parliamentary elections last January — and, if successful, will mark the first local council vote since 2005.

Meanwhile, leaders of Fatah, the dominant West Bank party, are calling upon Fayyad to “reshuffle” his cabinet and in order to give Fatah members greater power over interior affairs, finance, and foreign affairs. One senior Fatah official claimed that Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, “also wants a reshuffle” and does not object to the ministerial demands of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council.

But Fayyad’s singular focus is still on building the institutional architecture for Palestinian statehood, write Karin Laub and Mohammed Daraghmeh at the Huffington Post. “He is moving ahead with an ambitious plan,” they say, referring to Fayyad’s efforts to pave roads, reform the judiciary, and plan new cities. However, his active, hands-on approach that often circumvents the traditional “power structures of the Fatah movement” may be one of the reasons for Fatah’s demand for greater cabinet-level representation, which could begin to cause additional internal rifts. And according to Robert Blecher of the International Crisis Group — quoted by Laub and Daraghmeh — Fayyad’s biggest challenge will be walking a “tightrope between the coordination with Israel that his statebuilding plan requires and the defiance of Israel that Palestinians demand and toward which they are gravitating.”


Posted in Elections, Hamas, Israel, Judiciary, Palestine, Political Parties | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Different yet Similar: Governance in the West Bank and Gaza”

March 19th, 2010 by Josh

The Palestine Center – the educational arm of the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development – hosted an event to explore the similarities and differences between systems of government in the West Bank and Gaza. How have they made institutional improvements and has this effected the balance between security and liberty? How sustainable and vulnerable are these state-like systems? Dr. Yezid Sayigh, Professor of Middle East Studies at King’s College in London, addressed these questions and provided an overview of an evolving Palestinian political landscape. Expected speaker Dr. Khaled Hroub from the University of Cambridge was not able to attend.

Click here for POMED’s notes in PDF, or continue below the fold.

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Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Hamas, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Political Parties, Reform | Comment »

POMED Notes: “The Role of New Media in Promoting Reform in the Middle East: The Case of Lebanon”

March 5th, 2010 by Josh

The Project on Middle East Democracy and the Safadi Foundation USA hosted an event to discuss the implications of “connection technologies” for U.S. foreign policy. The year 2009 witnessed an explosion of Internet-based activism in the political cultures of the Middle East. The Use of information and communication technology (ICT) has been a transformative tool in strengthening civil society and expanding the outreach of independent voices. What types of U.S. assistance are needed to empower young reformers committed to non-sectarian politics? What is the role of ICT in promoting inter-faith dialogue and peace building? To answer things questions, Mona Yacoubian, Director of the Lebanon Working Group at USIP, moderated a discussion featuring Jared Cohen, a member of Secretary Clinton’s Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State. Elias Muhanna, the other expected panelist and publisher of the widely-read blog www.qifanabki.com, was unable to attend due to the recent birth of his daughter.

For full notes in PDF, click here. Otherwise, continue reading below the fold.

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Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Hamas, Hezbollah, Lebanon, NGOs, Reform, Sectarianism, Technology, US foreign policy | 1 Comment »

POMED Notes: “U.S. Policies and Programs for Global Development: USAID and the FY 2011 Budget Request”

March 3rd, 2010 by Josh

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing this morning to address President Obama’s FY2011 budget request for global development and international aid. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah provided testimony about particular goals and objectives for USAID moving forward, and answered the committee’s questions regarding a variety of development trends and projects.

For POMED’s notes in PDF, click here. Otherwise, continue below the fold.

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Posted in Afghanistan, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Hamas, Iraq, Palestine, US foreign policy | Comment »