05 May
Israel

After Abbas | Interview with Avi Melamed

Avi Melamed is a former Israeli intelligence officer and strategic consultant to some of Israel’s top politicians, such as Teddy Kollek and Ehud Olmert. A Middle East analyst and fellow of intelligence and Middle East affairs at the Eisenhower Institute, Melamed currently serves as the chief education officer of Inside the Middle East, a nonprofit dedicated to non-partisan education on the regional complexities of Israel and its neighbors. His most recent book is Inside the Middle East: Entering a New Era. This interview is part of a special Moment package about what will happen after Mahmoud Abbas no longer controls the Palestinian Authority. For the rest of our coverage, click here. What might the Israeli-Palestinian relationship or governmental relationship look like after Mahmoud Abbas is no longer in power?  To a large extent, it depends on what will...

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04 May
Israel

After Abbas | An Interview With Menachem Klein

Menachem Klein is a professor of political science and senior lecturer at Bar-Ilan University who served as an advisor to Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000. Today he is a visiting professor at King’s College London and a senior fellow at the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue. Klein’s books include Between Israel and Palestine: An Insider’s Account of the Geneva Initiative and Arafat and Abbas: Portraits of Leadership in a State Postponed. This interview is part of a special Moment package about what will happen after Mahmoud Abbas no longer controls the Palestinian Authority. For the rest of our coverage, click here. What is the general atmosphere right now in the West Bank and Gaza, both in terms of domestic issues and vis-à-vis Israel and its new government?  There is a high concern in the Palestinian territories....

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04 May
Israel

After Abbas | An Interview With Itamar Marcus

Itamar Marcus is a researcher and the founder of Palestinian Media Watch, which studies Palestinian society by monitoring and analyzing its media. He is a preeminent critic of Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. Marcus is the co-author of Deception: Betraying the Peace Process. This interview is part of a special Moment package about what will happen after Mahmoud Abbas no longer controls the Palestinian Authority. For the rest of our coverage, click here. Mahmoud Abbas is 87, what happens if he dies or retires?  Right now, about 80 percent of the Palestinian population sees him as corrupt and a similar percentage wants him to leave office. There are a number of scenarios his exit could follow. If Abbas were to, say, suddenly die of a heart attack, he would leave a power void, since you have a number...

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04 May
Israel

An Interview With Khalil Shikaki

Khalil Shikaki is the director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research and a professor of political science, currently serving as a senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. An expert on Palestinian society, Shikaki has conducted more than 200 polls of Palestinians in the territories. He is the author of Arabs and Israelis: Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East. This interview is part of a special Moment package about what will happen after Mahmoud Abbas no longer controls the Palestinian Authority. For the rest of our coverage, click here. How do you see the political atmosphere right now in the Palestine Authority?  It is very depressing because the Palestinian Authority (PA) lacks legitimacy in the eyes of the public. Most people want to see Mahmoud Abbas resign as president....

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