Beyond Oslo: Challenges and Prospects

A Report on a Student Study Group Analysis of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Introduction

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Oslo Accords, we present this paper as the culmination of a spring 2023 Study Group on the Israel-Palestine Conflict at Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center’s Middle East Initative (MEI) under the direction of Senior Fellow Ambassador (Ret.) Edward Djerejian. The Study Group consisted of 25 Harvard students from across the University and was conducted over five sessions. Presentations and reading assignments were drawn from diverse contemporary and historical sources, including six in-depth interviews with Israeli and Palestinian regional experts across the academic, professional, and national security spectra. These contributions allowed us to analyze historical precedents, examine lessons learned from past policy and negotiating successes and failures, and understand how acute and problematic the status quo has become and what possible ways forward could be defined. Head Research Assistant to Ambassador Djerejian, Nicolas Pantelick ’24, aided in drafting this executive paper, which summarizes the study group’s deliberations and suggestions for the way forward in the complex Israel-Palestine political landscape.