An Israeli Political Crisis: Elections, Unity Government and Annexation

With three inconclusive elections and a political stalemate eventually leading to the formation of a unity government, all under the spectre of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption charges, this event will analyse Israel's unprecedented political crisis. Speakers will discuss what to make of the deal between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party, and what this means for Palestinians both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories, particularly in the context of current annexation plans.

Yara Hawari is the Senior Palestine Policy Fellow of Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. She completed her PhD in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter, where she taught various undergraduate courses and continues to be an honorary research fellow. In addition to her academic work which focused on indigenous studies and oral history,  she is also a frequent political commentator writing for various media outlets including The Guardian, Foreign Policy and Al Jazeera English.

Daniel Levy is President of the U.S./Middle East Project. From 2012 to 2016 he was Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to that, he was a Senior Fellow and Director of the New America Foundation’s Middle East Taskforce in Washington D.C. and a Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation. Levy was a Senior Advisor in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and to Justice Minister Yossi Beilin during the Government of Ehud Barak (1999-2001). He was a member of the official Israeli delegation to the Israel/Palestine peace talks at Taba under Ehud Barak and at Oslo B under Yitzhak Rabin (1994-95).

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