Activities

Independent Task Force for the Strengthening of Palestinian Public Institutions

The Task Force Report on “Strengthening of Palestinian Public Institutions,” a project of the U.S./Middle East Project that was funded by the European Commission and the Government of Norway, was the first comprehensive and systematic assessment of the institutions of the Palestinian Authority. Published in 1999, the study examined the Palestinian Authority’s structure and procedures, its ability to set priorities and allocate resources, and its transparency and accountability.

The goal of the study was a practical one – to determine what works, what does not work, why not, and how to fix it, providing practical and detailed guidelines for the development of sound institutions and good governance.

The Task Force’s report helped guide the efforts of the Palestinian Authority and international institutions – the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, the United Nations and the international donor community – to improve the efficiency and credibility of the emerging Palestinian self-governing institutions.

Read Reports



General Brent Scowcroft, Eric Melby and Henry Siegman

General Brent Scowcroft, Eric Melby and Henry Siegman

more events »

Can Kerry Rescue a Two-State Peace Accord?

If the purpose of President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel was to dispel the view held by most Israelis, and by rightwing American Jewish supporters of AIPAC and the Likud’s annexationist policies, that he is hostile to Israel and to the Zionist enterprise, it must be judged a brilliant success. Not everyone was converted, but his words and personal charm seemed to have worked wonders on most Israelis.
While his visit was not expected to revive prospects for a two-state solution, he spoke far more directly and energetically about the need for an end to Israel’s occupation and about his own continuing efforts to help the parties achieve an agreement than his recent disengagement from the peace process prepared anyone for. But nothing he said in Jerusalem or Ramallah–and, more importantly, that he failed to say–justifies an expectation that his reengagement will be of a kind that has any chance of preventing Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government from finally nailing down the coffin in which they are burying a viable two-state outcome.

read more »