On June 24th, five EMIS Alumni participated in a webinar hosted by the the Leon Charney Resolution Center about The Israeli - Palestinian Conflict During the Times of Corona, with agues speaker Professor Peter Jones. The webinar can be watched in its entirety on our YouTube channel.

In terms of the annexation, Peter presented a rather grim picture where none of the internal nor external forces are willing or able to step in with sufficient pressure on the Israeli decision makers to prevent further takeover of Palestinian land. It seems that the problem has been exacerbated by the pandemic as it keeps governments busy and people apart.

Nikolay Lopukhin

Uncertainties starting with the decline in the economy of both states and continuing with the annexation plans of the West Bank. Therefore, it is too early to make any precise predictions regarding the future of the relationship between Israel and Palestine.

Coming into the webinar, I knew that the conflict wouldn’t be solved all of a sudden. The topic and conflict stay complex. I had expected the COVID-19 pandemic to open new opportunities and chances for cooperation and negotiation. In the buildup to the webinar, the annexation plans of Netanyahu were starting to be materialized and I had no idea to what extent it would influence our discussion topic. To my surprise, our speaker Peter Jones was able to go into that topic in depth even on such short notice. It was tough to notice how these political Issues do not stop, even during a pandemic. In Europe, where I live, almost everything is overshadowed by the Coronavirus, apparently not so much in the Middle East.

I will definitely be reminded of this bird’s-eye view whenever I am reflecting or forming my own internal views on the issue.