The Director and Chairman hold meetings in Israel and Palestine, 16th - 19th November 2014

GazaOn Monday 17th the Director spent the day in Gaza, which gave him an opportunity to meet with the authorities and leaders of civil society and to assess  the post -conflict situation. The situation in Gaza, while calm on the surface, remains extremely fragile and unpredictable due to the pressures created by the total lack of progress in addressing the post conflict conditions. It is estimated that over  80,000  homes in Gaza are in urgent need of  repair. Thousands of families remain in temporary overcrowded accommodation which is fuelling social tensions. Although the sale of construction materials to residents whose dwellings were damaged in the conflict is ongoing, many complain that the resources made available are totally inadequate to address the scale of the destruction.  The need to restore basic infrastructure - electricity, sewage and drinking water - is particularly acute, with fears growing that widespread epidemics may soon emerge. This situation has been exacerbated by the failure of the technocratic unity government to so far address these challenges.JerusalemOn Tuesday 18th the Director and Chairman of Forward Thinking held several meetings in Jerusalem. They began with a meeting with Dr Mahdi Abdul Haddi, the Director of Passia, who provided an overview of the current situation, particularly in East Jerusalem where there has been a marked escalation in inter - communal  violence in recent weeks. They also met with a representative of the Israeli Russian community before spending the rest of the day in  meetings with MK's from the various political factions including the leader of the opposition Isaac Herzog and the Deputy speaker  Hilik Bar. They had a long discussion with representatives of Jewish Home party on their vision of the future and their understanding of how best to resolve the current conflict.Ramallah and NabulusOn Wednesday 19th, the Director and Chairman met with the former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad. They also had meetings with Mustafa Barghouti and, in Nabulus, with the former ministers of the 2006 unity government. The day concluded with a dinner with the Irish ambassador in Tel Aviv.Their overall evaluation of the current context is that the situation is increasingly volatile, with no signs of the necessary political leadership that is required to avoid a further deterioration and further violence.