Foundation for Defense of Democracies

In November 2012, the PLO upgraded its status at the United Nations to non-member observer, despite opposition by the United States, Israel, and a handful of other countries. But it appears that little has changed following the vote, which came in the immediate wake of a two-week conflict between Israel and Hamas.

In November 2012, the PLO upgraded its status at the United Nations to non-member observer, despite opposition by the United States, Israel, and a handful of other countries. But it appears that little has changed following the vote, which came in the immediate wake of a two-week conflict between Israel and Hamas. The Palestinian leadership remains torn between Gaza and the West Bank and the already tense relationship between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships has further eroded. The challenges are compounded by the PLO’s decision to rename the Palestinian Authority the “State of Palestine,” which could throw the Oslo Accords into limbo.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ vice president of research Jonathan Schanzer wrote Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle for Palestine, the definitive book on Palestinian internecine conflict that erupted in the wake of the legislative elections of 2006. Schanzer has spent much of his time since monitoring the political developments between the Palestinian factions, the Israelis, and the international community.