Strategy and Security (2006)

Especially since the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000, a key factor in the numerous calls for a comprehensive reform of Palestinian institutions that came from both inside and outside the Occupied Territories, was the reform of the Palestinian security sector, in particular its police forces and intelligence services and their political oversight and control mechanisms.

The Palestinian Territories constituted a unique backdrop for efforts of security as they were no sovereign state, but a transitional regime with contested legitimacy and a disputed territorial basis. The government, therefore, needed the full cooperation of its citizens, who, however, had lost their confidence and trust in the security sector, which suffered from many problems such as corruption, chaos, absence of a clear vision and direction.

Another challenge the Palestinians faced at the same time was the sweeping victory of the Hamas movement in the latest PLC elections. This was of high strategic relevance as it directly related to and affected the interaction between Palestinians and other regional and international players.

To tackle those topical questions, PASSIA organized three one-day workshops to analyze and debate issues of relevance to Palestinian security and strategy and to find answer to questions such as: What are the scope and elements of a national security policy and how should it be governed? What is the nature of civil-security relations in Palestine? And: What are the current strategic realities and imperatives of Palestine with regard to other international players?

Workshop 1: Palestinian Security Governance

Workshop 2: Society-Security Relations

Workshop 3: Palestinian Foreign relations – Strategic ImpEratives