The last few months have seen a wave of new restrictions on the rights and freedom of movement of Palestinians, considerable settlement expansion, and the continued institutional erosion of the Palestinian Authority (PA). These, in turn, have led to escalating unrest in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem and set back hopes for peace.
One of the most controversial events was Israel’s police raid on Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque on 5th April, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and just before the Jewish Passover holiday. At least 14 Palestinians were injured and hundreds were arrested. The raid provoked protests in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Ummar, and the firing of rockets towards Israel from the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon. The Israel Defence Forces retaliated with air strikes in both areas. The raid was reminiscent of the 2021 violence which contributed to the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, the group that controls the Gaza Strip. Thankfully, fears of a wider-scale escalation during the overlapping holidays of Ramadan and Passover were not realised.
Amidst the mounting tensions and violence, face-to-face discussions between senior officials from Israel and Palestine took place in February and March. These are the first of their kind since the US-sponsored talks between Israel and Palestine broke down in 2014.
Aqaba Summit
The US-brokered summit in Aqaba, Jordan on 26th February, which was also attended by senior officials from Jordan and Egypt, aimed to de-escalate tensions on the ground as a first step towards a peaceful settlement between Israel and Palestine. In a joint communique, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to all previous agreements between them and to de-escalation on the ground. They also recognised the importance of Jordan’s custodianship of the holy sites in Jerusalem and the importance of upholding the status quo and committed to working to end unilateral measures for three to six months. This included a commitment by Israel to ceasing the discussion of any new settlement units for four months and the authorisation of any outposts for six months. All parties agreed to a second meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh the following month. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the agreement would “de-escalate violence” if implemented and another Jordanian official described the meeting as a “significant breakthrough”.
Shortly after the meeting ended, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently denied any agreements to stop announcements of new settlements and Tzachi Hanegbi, the National Security Advisor confirmed that there would be “no change in Israeli policy”. The number of Israel’s settlers in settlements and outposts across the West Bank and East Jerusalem has now reached 700,000.
This meeting sparked further violence in the occupied West Bank; one Palestinian gunman shot and killed two Israeli brothers in Huwara, provoking a settler rampage in the town, during which at least 15 houses and a number of cars were burned.
Sharm el-Sheikh Summit
Despite opposition, the second summit between the five parties went ahead as planned on 19th March. Ahead of the meeting, the senior PA official, Hussein al-Sheikh announced that the Palestinian delegation would be participating in order to “defend the rights of our Palestinian people to freedom and independence”, and “[request] an end to this continuous Israeli aggression against us and to stop all measures and policies that violate our blood, land, property and sanctities”.
At this summit Israel and Palestine reaffirmed their commitment to all previous agreements between them, most significantly the legal right of the PA to carry out security responsibilities in Area (A) of the West Bank which was not included in the communique issued after the Aqaba summit, suggesting that there was some progress on this issue. Furthermore, all parties recognised the importance of maintaining the meetings under this format and agreed to convene again in Egypt.
After the summit, the West Bank town of Huwara once again became the site of conflict with another lone Palestinian shooting and wounding an Israeli.
The Sharm el-Sheikh summit not only incited further violence in the Palestinian territories but also criticism from all major Palestinian political parties except Fatah, which runs the PA. Hamas stated it “rejects the conference in Sharm al-Sheikh”, while the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said in a joint statement that it “constitute[d] a coup against popular will”.
The Palestinian Authority
Dissatisfaction with the PA, and in particular, the president, Mahmoud Abbas is widespread among Palestinians. Abbas assumed this role in 2004, following the death of Yasser Arafat and has now exceeded his term by 10 years. His lack of a democratic mandate, advanced age and ill health have led many to question whether he can keep up with the demands of his position. The celebrated Qatari writer and specialist in political sciences at Qatar University, Mohammad Al Misfer called for his resignation last month, criticising his facilitation of “Israeli aggression” and the further expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank. Since 2012, the number of settlements across the West Bank and in East Jerusalem has increased by almost 200,000.
Other complaints against Mahmoud Abbas include his inability to develop the Palestinian economy much beyond a dependence on donor aid and his commitment to security coordination with Israel which has entrenched divides between Palestinian factions in the West Bank and Gaza. Hopes that Abbas’ priorities were changing, following his announcement that he would suspend security coordination in January, after the Israel’s attack on the Jenin refugee camp, were short-lived. Weeks later, he told US Central Intelligence Chief William Burns that the suspension was only temporary and security coordination would be implemented fully again.
The complaints of the disaffected Palestinians were echoed by Tor Wennesland, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process in a briefing to the Security Council. He stated that the absence of intra-Palestinian unity is the major obstacle to Palestinian national aspirations and emphasised that Gaza is and must continue to be an integral part of a future Palestinian State, calling upon the council to take steps to reunite Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, under a single, democratic government. Wennesland also drew attention to the PA’s “significant fiscal and institutional challenges”, urging the international community to help strengthen the Palestinian institutions and encourage reform of their administration.
Israel’s Government
Premier Netanyahu’s coalition government continues to restrict the rights and freedoms of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories. Over the last few months, the hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has banned flying the Palestinian flag in public spaces, withheld almost £32.9 million in Palestinian tax revenues, and in East Jerusalem, ordered the demolition of approximately 50 Palestinian homes. Furthermore, a recent Amnesty International report, revealed that Israel’s authorities have implemented facial recognition surveillance technology which keeps key Palestinians under near-constant observation across the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. This month, Israel published tenders for over 1,000 new housing units in settlements in the West Bank, including Beitar Illit, Efrat, Kiryat Arva, Ma’ale Efraim and Karnei Shomron in addition to 89 units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo.
UN peace process coordinator Tor Wennesland condemned Israel’s continued settlement expansion as a “flagrant violation of international law” and argued that it serves to “further entrench the occupation, fuel tensions and systematically erode the viability of a Palestinian State as part of a two-State solution”. He also called for de-escalation and implementation of the steps agreed upon at the summit, which would start to reverse negative steps on the ground. The United Kingdom and five European Union countries have all issued similar statements.
The Gaza Strip
Currently, violence in Gaza is escalating. Israel’s air attacks have killed some 27 Palestinians, including at least five women and five children, and made dozens of homes and residential buildings unliveable. The Palestinian death toll includes several leaders of the Palestine’s popular Islamic Jihad movement. Over 400 retaliatory rockets have been fired from Gaza towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted by Israel’s missile defences, though one Israeli was killed.
So Where Are We?
To return to the question posed in the title of ‘where are we’ with regards to a peace process in the Middle East, the answer, regrettably, after 45 years, is still far away. Without de-escalation from Israel, stronger and more cohesive Palestinian leadership, and most importantly interest from the international community, there seems to be little hope of meaningful peace negotiations taking place in the near future.
