Masarat - The Palestinian Center for Policy Research & Strategic Studies

Profile

Country/TerritoryPalestinian Authority
Websitehttp://masarat.ps/en/content/home
In their own words“A Palestinian independent local organization specialized in formulating the strategic policies and studies. It focuses on developing democratic objective choices and alternatives in order to minimize the gap between theoretical knowledge and the decision making process at the official and local organizations.”

Funding

  • The organization does not publish financial information, reflecting a lack of transparency.

Activities

  • Masarat played a key role in a January 2017 “informal dialogue on ways to end the division and restore unity” and “promote reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.” The workshop was organized by the Swiss Government and Crisis Management Initiative (CMI).
    • The Swiss Government and CMI spent $85,000 on the workshop.
  • In July 2016, Masarat hosted Mustafa Barghouti, who called “to engage in the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) against Israel, which provides pro-Palestinians outside Palestine with a tool to engage in the struggle.”
  • In November 2015, Masarat released a statement calling “For the Eradication of Terrorism Everywhere,” referring to themselves as “victims of Israeli state terrorism,” and alleging that “A global campaign cannot exempt Israel. A successful strategy must also address state terrorism such as that practiced by Israel, and the terrorism of its colonial settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
  • In July 2014, Masarat issued a statement to “stop the Israeli aggression…In light of the barbaric Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which comes as a new Zionist colonial project settlement racial episode.”

Staff

  • Hani al-Masri
    • Al-Masri, the Director General of Masarat, is a Policy Advisor for Al-Shabaka, an NGO which promotes the Palestinian narrative of “the right of return,” the “Nakba,” the boycotts, divestments and sanctions (BDS) campaign, and regularly features writers who accuse Israel of “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing” without featuring alternative views.
    • According to a January 2017 Jerusalem Post article, “Hani al-Masri, who oversees Masarat, was a member of the EU and the US-designated terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.”
    • In January 2016, al-Masri called on the “PA and leadership” to adopt a campaign to boycott Israel, as it is “illogical for there to be a Palestinian investment in Israel and the settlements, and illogical for Palestinian shops to carry Israeli products after announcing the boycott, especially in light of the recent news about supermarket chain owner Rami Levy intending on building large shopping centres in cooperation with Palestinian businessmen and companies.”
    • In a 2015 article, Hani al-Masri is quoted as saying BDS “may change the whole situation, but only if used as an instrument of long-term strategy, not as a tactical way of improving the conditions of Palestinians living under occupation, or to enhance the terms of negotiations.”
    • In June 2015, Al-Masri alleged that while Israel may believe it is “an oasis of civilization and democracy,” in reality, “all of the war crimes and massacres it commits; the blockades it imposes; the children it kills; the homes, institutions, churches, mosques and international institutions it destroys; the racism it exercises against human beings and buildings; and the laws and values its violates, are not down to self-defence.”
    • In June 2015, al-Masri expressed his support for BDS and stated that a “boycott will not pay off until it affects all of Israel. Only then will the Israeli government feel like it is being held accountable and at risk of isolation, sanctions, and prosecution for its past and ongoing crimes.”
    • In March 2015, Al-Masri spoke at The Jerusalem Fund and Palestine Center about “The Palestinian Issue: Dangers, Threats and Strategic Options” and the “challenge of Zionist colonial settlers and apartheid occupation. The challenge pertains to being a colonial regime whose expansionist nature doesn’t accept compromises or propose solutions. This regime was established based on accruing the largest possible area of land and expelling the largest number of indigenous population and would not recognize any of the legitimate rights of Palestinians.”

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