Why does the Palestinian Authority continue its security collaboration with Israel even today, when Israeli-Palestinian political relations are at an all-time low? What is the nature of this cooperation? Who are the Palestinian security forces? How sustainable is their law-enforcement and counter-terrorism assignment? How long can they continue collaborating with Israel at the absence of any progress toward a political accord between Israel and the Palestinians?
Our current episode addresses these questions with the help of two experts who just published a report on this topic.
To download Neri Zilber and Ghaith al-Omari's report State with No Army, Army with No State - Evolution of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces, 1994–2018 click here:
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/state-with-no-army-army-with-no-state
This episode features:
* Swiss-American photo journalist Saskia Keeley, who through the lenses of cameras that she gives to women -- West Bank Israeli settlers and Palestinian women who live in adjacent towns and villages -- helps these women explore the humanity of the other, open to the other, and discover the many commonalities of Palestinian and Israeli women. Saskia’s web site: https://www.saskiakeeley.com/
* Father Josh Thomas, the executive director of Kids for Peace, a youth movement based in Jerusalem, which brings together Israeli and Palestinian teens, West Jerusalemites and East Jerusalemites and their families. Kids for Peace’s web site: http://www.k4p.org/
I met Father Josh and Saskia Keeley at a conference at Yale University, organized by Yale’s chapter of One Voice, an organization that works to bring together Israelis and Palestinians under a joint agenda of a two-state solution.
Ori’s email address for feedback: onir@peacenow.org
APN’s donate page: https://peacenow.org/donate
Omar Shakir is the Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, where he investigates human rights abuses in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
Shakir has a broad experience in human rights work, both with Human Rights Watch and with other groups, including legal representation of Guantanamo detainees and investigating human rights violations in Egypt. Shakir holds a JD from Stanford Law School, where he co-authored a report on the civilian consequences of US drone strikes in Pakistan as a part of the International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic, an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Affairs, and a BA in International Relations from Stanford.
The conversation with him focuses on the events along the Israel Gaza border fence, and in particular addresses Israel’s practice of sniper fire targeting unarmed civilians.
