“Follow Us Not Them” — The Ramallah Model: Washington’s Palestinian Failure
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George Bush’s “vision” of a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is based on the supremacy of the “Ramallah model” over the “Gaza model.” U.S. policy intends that the advantages championed by Ramallah in negotiations with Israel and the economic revival enabled by international assistance will “strengthen Abu Mazen” and undermine the Palestininian majority for Hamas. In this contest, however, Hamas, from its base in Gaza, retains significant advantages. As long as the limitations of U.S. policy prevent an end to occupation, the Ramallah model will be compromised and the process of “strengthening Abu Mazen” will continue the process of Fateh’s marginalization and Hamas’s empowerment that has been the legacy of the Oslo era.
The monograph’s author, Geoffrey Aronson is on the Conflicts Forum Advisory Board. He is Executive Director of the Washington, DC-based Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is a widely published authority on the region and is the foremost authority on the settlements issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.