Netanyahu corruption scandal could force early polls

Significance The allegations against Netanyahu involve the acceptance of expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen and an attempt to close a confidential deal on coverage with the publisher of a major newspaper, who until now has been considered his arch-rival. Police are also investigating accusations relating to the role of Netanyahu’s personal lawyer in major procurement contracts between the Israeli navy and a German manufacturer. Impacts Public support for Netanyahu by ministers from his Likud party could be undercut in private. Netanyahu is likely to resist increased right-wing pressure to annex parts of the West Bank, fearing a US response. The accusations have put the premier under extreme political pressure, which might affect his responses to rising tensions with Gaza.

Significance The ‘Abraham Peace Accords’ between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and between Israel and Bahrain, were signed in September, after being brokered by the US Trump administration. Deals with Sudan and Morocco have since followed. Impacts Palestinian complaints will become more pointed as other Arab-Israeli ties strengthen and tourism increases. The Biden administration could engage in more scrutiny of right-wing Israeli claims, especially over the West Bank settlements. As right-wing politicians entrench their dominance, archaeological finds will drive more nationalistic interpretations of the past.


Significance Encouraged by a supportive US administration, Israel is pressing ahead with plans to expand existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank and even to regularise outposts established without the government’s sanction. Palestinians complain that this policy is steadily eroding the prospects for a two-state solution. Impacts Rising despair and internal divisions could stoke a new round of violent Palestinian protest. The dispute over the legitimacy of settlements could assist right-wing efforts to limit the power of Israel's Supreme Court. Controversy over settlements may undermine US attempts to forge an alliance between Israel and Saudi Arabia against Iran.


Significance This partly reflected fears that the Trump administration’s promised “ultimate deal” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include neither element. US envoy and principal author Jason Greenblatt said on September 13 that work on the secret plan had entered the “pre-launch phase”, despite Palestinian opposition. Impacts Unilateral Israeli annexation of large parts of the West Bank is becoming increasingly plausible as right-wing discourse changes. Tel Aviv will resist a return to Palestinian Authority control in Gaza, with many politicians preferring the existing split with Hamas. Despite half-promises to Trump, Saudi Arabia cannot afford to abandon the Palestinian cause. Russia may partly move into the abandoned US mediation role but lacks the commitment and leverage to force a solution.


Significance Trump asserted that the decision was necessary to promote regional security and stability. As with his 2017 decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the president is breaking with an international consensus on the status of the Golan Heights, which was captured from Syria in 1967. Impacts The decision will further undermine Palestinian confidence that the United States is an impartial broker. It will raise questions over the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Forces (UNDOF). A limited campaign of rocket attacks into the Golan Heights by Hezbollah or other Iran-backed groups is possible. The move will further highlight policy towards Israel as a partisan issue in US domestic politics. Some right-wing Israeli and US politicians will use the momentum to push for Israeli annexation of the West Bank.


Author(s):  
Heba Khalid Sleem, Yousef Jaber Alawwneh Heba Khalid Sleem, Yousef Jaber Alawwneh

  This study aimed to identify the role of educational media in meeting the scientific needs of students in light of the Corona pandemic from the point of view of Palestinian university students in the west bank and to achieve the objectives of the study the descriptive analytical approach was adopted and a questionnaire of (30) paragraphs (337) was developed and distributed among students of Palestinian universities in the West Bank, and then statistically processed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS.) Palestinian university students came up with a total average of (3.49 out of 5), and this result means that the role of educational media in meeting the scientific needs of students ranged from high to low. As it appeared, there were no statistically significant differences at the level of indication (0.05α=) in the average responses of the study sample members towards the role of educational media in meeting the scientific needs of students in the light of the corona crisis attributable to each of the variables (gender, university system) while there were differences attributable to both the variable (practical college and place of residence, based on the results of the study). The researchers recommended that educational media should focus on providing students with new experiences in their field of educational media and that all Palestinian universities should allocate more than one educational broadcast in order to provide opportunities for all students in all disciplines to learn.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Presya Ramadhan

This paper examines the role of Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII) in development in the West Bank, Palestine in the U.S.-Palestine Partnership (UPP) framework. Answering the question of how the role of the Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII) in development in Palestine in the US-Palestine Partnership (UPP) framework and how the contribution of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to development in Palestine, the author's thesis statement is that amid diplomatic and territorial disputes, The Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII) as a public-private partnership becomes the main channel for collecting and channeling development assistance such as resources and private sector investment that can benefit the West Bank and bring prosperity to people Palestinians. While the private sector such as the Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII) cannot do much to address diplomacy or security issues, the private sector can play an equally important role through the contribution of resources and investment to conflict areas such as Palestine to help economic development In the West Bank, Palestine.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 140-178
Author(s):  
Paul Karolyi

This update, which summarizes bilateral, multilateral, regional, and international events affecting the Palestinians and the future of the peace process, covers the quarter beginning on 16 February 2017 and ending on 15 May 2017. During this period, the administration of U.S. pres. Donald Trump attempted to put its own stamp on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Israeli government announced a new policy on settlement growth in the West Bank, and the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership struggled to consolidate power. Palestinians in the West Bank elected new local leaders, despite disagreements among the major parties. Some 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails declared a hunger strike, drawing support from across the political spectrum. Meanwhile, Israel's right-wing government kept up a campaign to undermine and delegitimize its opponents, including the Israeli Left, the Palestinian minority in Israel, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir D. Baidoun ◽  
Robert N. Lussier ◽  
Maisa Burbar ◽  
Sawsan Awashra

Purpose The aim of this study is to examine the factors that lead to success or failure of a small business in the West Bank of Palestine. Design/methodology/approach This study methodology is a survey research, testing the Lussier model of business success and failure with a sample of 246 small businesses (90 failed and 156 successful) to better understand the reasons of their success or failure using logistic regression statistical analysis. Findings The model is significant (p = 0.000); it will predict a group of businesses as successful or failed more accurately than random guessing 99 per cent of the time. The model will also predict a specific small firm as successful or failed 94 per cent of the time vs. 50 per cent for random guessing. The r-square is very high (r = 0.70), indicating that the model variables are, in fact, significant predictors of success or failure. Results indicate that having adequate capital, keeping good records with financial controls, making plans and getting professional advice on how to manage the firm are the most important factors for the viability and success of small businesses. Practical implications With the high rate of small business failure globally, results of this study provide a list of variables that contribute to the success of small firms. Firms that focus on these important factors will increase their odds of success. Thus, avoiding failure, firms better utilize resources that contribute to economic growth. Originality/value This is the first study that looks at success and failure of small businesses in Palestine. There is no one single accepted theory that may be applied to small businesses. This paper aims to further contribute to the global validity of Lussier success and failure model moving toward a theory to better understand why some businesses succeed and others fail.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Wirtz ◽  
Sven Tuzovic ◽  
Volker G. Kuppelwieser

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of marketing in today's enterprises and examines the antecedents of the marketing department's influence and its relationship with market orientation and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from the West (i.e. the USA and Europe) and the East (i.e. Asia). Partial least squares (PLS) was used to estimate structural models. Findings – The findings support the idea that a strong and influential marketing department contributes positively to firm performance. This finding holds for Western and Asian, and for small/medium and large firms alike. Second, the marketing department's influence in a firm depends more on its responsibilities and resources, and less on internal contingency factors (i.e. a firm's competitive strategy or institutional attributes). Third, a marketing department's influence in the West affects firm performance both directly and indirectly (via market orientation). In contrast, this relationship is fully mediated among Eastern firms. Fourth, low-cost strategies enhance the influence of a firm's marketing department in the East, but not in the West. Research limitations/implications – The paper assumes explicitly that a marketing department's influence is an antecedent of its market orientation. While the paper finds support for this link, the paper did not test for dual causality between the constructs. Originality/value – Countering the frequent claim in anecdotal and journalistic work that the role of the marketing department diminishes, the findings show that across different geographic regions and firm sizes, strong marketing departments improve firm performance (especially in the marketing-savvy West), and that they should continue to play an important role in firms.


Subject The role of civil society in China-Myanmar relations. Significance Myanmar's political transition, following the 2010 and 2015 elections, provides new space and opportunities for civil society, challenging China's long-standing position as the country's most important foreign partner. Impacts Lack of skills to engage with civil society in Myanmar will jeopardise China's status as an economic and development partner. Civil society in Myanmar could look towards the West, in particular the United States, for support -- not China. Myanmar has strategic potential as a land-based energy supply route that avoids the Malacca Strait. Rapid economic growth will eventually make Myanmar a market for China as well as supplier of resources. Nonetheless, Myanmar's government will not shun China: its support will be useful in the ethnic ceasefire effort.


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