SAMER SINIJLAWI

Samer Sinijlawi is a Fatah member and a Palestinian political activist and is chairman of the Jerusalem Development Fund. He holds a BA in Business Administration Beir Zeit University and a Masters in Conflict Resolution from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Sinijlawi was imprisoned in an Israeli jail at the age of 15 for five5 years and after his release was elected as the head of the Fatah Youth. Then he was elected as the head of international and Israeli relations on the Fatah Supreme Committee and was in charge of relations between Fatah and major political parties in Europe and the Arab world and as well as in Israel. Today he is the voice of opposition to President Mahmoud Abbas and calls for Palestinian reforms and democracy, as well as believing in Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and coexistence. He was the only high-profile Palestinian politician who visited the Gaza border area after the October massacre and condemned Hamas in front of cameras. He also visited the shiva of the Bibas family and asked Yarden Bibas for forgiveness. His op-eds have been published in The New York Times , Newsweek , Le Figaro , The Toronto Star , The Atlantic , Israel Hayom , N12, The Jerusalem Post , and Haaretz
A Palestinian woman is seen voting in local elections, in Gaza, last month.

Palestinian municipal vote reveals shift toward pragmatism, accountability - opinion

Palestinian local elections revealed a stronger-than-expected turnout despite boycott calls, signaling a shift toward accountable governance.

MAY 5, 2026
A Hamas fighter carries a rifle in the Gaza Strip, last year. Hamas is reportedly prepared to hand over not only weapons tied to internal security, but the broader machinery of governance to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the writer says.

Gaza leadership shift tests feasibility of structured post-war governance - opinion

A reported Hamas offer to transfer governance functions in Gaza opens a fragile but potentially significant path toward institutional transition, enforcement authority, and phased disarmament.

APRIL 26, 2026
PALESTINIANS WALK past the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City.

Why dismissing Palestinian reform voices is a strategic mistake - opinion

The argument that Gaza’s future is “doomed” because Gazans are morally irredeemable is a prescription for permanent war.

FEBRUARY 2, 2026

Phase II begins with representation: Why Gaza needs a Palestinian voice - opinion

One essential element remains conspicuously absent from the new peace plan: a credible, empowered Palestinian representative capable of engaging Israel directly.

JANUARY 19, 2026
Smoke rises in an area within the Yellow Line boundary, marking IDF-controlled Gaza territory, in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip November 18, 2025.

Hamas’s quiet power struggle reveals a movement in post-war transition - opinion

As Gaza’s war nears its end, Hamas faces an internal rupture between armed resistance and political survival—that may decide its future and Gaza’s fate.

DECEMBER 30, 2025
(L-R:) Senior Hamas officials Khaled Mashaal and Khalil al-Hayya

Trump's roadmap for Gaza requires free and fair elections for Palestinians - opinion

While Israelis are going to the ballot box for the 10th time in the last 20 years, Palestinians have not had the opportunity to choose their leadership freely for two decades.

NOVEMBER 19, 2025
US AMBASSADOR Mike Waltz votes at the UN Security Council in favor of a resolution for a UN mandate to establish an international stabilization force in Gaza, on Monday.

It's time for Israelis and Palestinians to stop fighting, start healing - analysis

Despite everything that has happened between us over these past two years, we Palestinians and Israelis must open our hearts and minds and allow our wounds the chance to heal.

OCTOBER 16, 2025
An illustrative image of a sign reading "Make peace, not war."