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Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab World in the Age of Trump
Abstract by Prof. Glenn E. Robinson On Session 040  (Israel in the Trump Era)

On Friday, November 16 at 11:00 am

2018 Annual Meeting

Abstract
This paper focuses on internal Palestinian political developments in the decade since Benjamin Natanyahu resumed power, and especially in the period since Donald Trump was elected as US president. I argue that the Likud party has been largely successful in its attempt to destroy the Palestinian national project, and I survey the varied responses, with a particular focus on Palestinian municipal government. Municipal governance is one area of Palestinian political practice and expression that serves the interests of both the Palestinian community and the Likud party goal of maintaining Israeli suzerainty over the West Bank in perpetuity. This is a situation that is reminiscent of Jordanian emphasis on Palestinian local governance in the 1950s and 1960s. The advent of the Trump presidency combined with the rise to power of Muhammad bin Salman in Saudi Arabia have accelerated the defeat of the Palestinian national project. The paper concludes with analysis of several plausible scenarios for the coming decade given these trend lines.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Israel
Palestine
Sub Area
None