Foundation for Middle East Peace & American Task Force for Palestine.

A morning briefing with Geoffrey Aronson and Mark Perry.

Tuesday January 29, 9:00-10:30

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
1779 Massachusetts Avenue

Gaza:  Crisis on the Border and Policy Options.

The consolidation of power in Gaza by the Hamas movement has opened a new chapter in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Developments there threaten to overwhelm American-led diplomatic efforts inaugurated in Annapolis. The recent destruction of the concrete and steel barrier separating Gaza from Egypt is a dramatic reflection of this challenge, signifying the prospect of an end of the border controls created in 2005 by Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority as part of Israel’s evacuation of the Gaza Strip.

The briefing will outline the role of this border in the calculations of Egypt, Israel, the Palestinians, and the international community and discuss policy options for the border.

Jeff Aronson is Director of Research and Editor of the Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories at the Foundation for Middle East Peace.  Mark Perry is a political analyst, historian, and principal in the Conflicts Forum.