Research Library

Since all parties involved will undoubtedly bear the consequences of Trump's highly problematic Peace to Prosperity plan, it is worth examining its framework and how Israelis, Palestinians and Arab states can navigate the negotiation process.

Once the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided, the new Israeli government will face serious flaws in, among other things, the territorial dimensions of President Trump's “Deal of the Century,” writes Middle East fellow Gilead Sher for the Baker Institute blog: https://bit.ly/2VvkBPw

This brief assesses the consequences of the Trump administration’s new policy on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, particularly within the context of past legal arguments and the stances of six previous U.S. presidential administrations.

The authors examine the varied approaches used by the U.S. and Iran during the ongoing nuclear negotiations, with particular emphasis on how each side approaches the Israeli-Palestinian arena and Iran’s entrenchment in Syria and Lebanon.

The authors explain why unilateral annexation of the West Bank by Israel would have pernicious and lasting consequences, leading Israel to an unprecedented crisis of delegitimization, enhanced demonization and isolation.

This analysis explores the consequences of West Bank annexation for Israel’s international standing, internal cohesion and socio-economic fabric, and security within a larger framework of regional stability.

In separate papers, two Baker Institute fellows — one Palestinian, the other Israeli — provide their perspectives on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This month, the Syrian Civil War will have lasted seven years. The authors of this brief explore how the United States — first under President Barack Obama and now under President Donald Trump — has struggled to develop a coherent strategy that balances U.S. interests in the conflict with the military, financial and diplomatic resources necessary to pursue them.

In this brief, the authors explain why Israeli-Palestinian negotiations failed in 2013, and outline the elements necessary to relaunch the talks and reach a durable Israeli-Palestinian peace based on the two-state solution.

Despite right-wing pushes for the annexation of a significant portion of the West Bank, support remains for a two-state solution to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yair Hirschfeld, fellow in the Center for the Middle East, analyzes Israel's political environment in this post on the Baker Institute Blog.