Truce in Gaza: What Comes Next? | Current Affairs Lecture with cultural anthropologist Ellen van Werkhoven and political scientist Niels Terpstra

Announcement

A truce between Hamas and Israel has finally been reached. This would mean an end to 15 months of war and opens the door for humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. But how fragile is this truce? What would a potential end to the war mean for the mutual relations within the Middle East and its surrounding area? And what future lies ahead for both Palestinians and Israel? Come listen to cultural anthropologist Ellen van Werkhoven and political scientist Niels Terpstra.

Hope and fear

There is hope in both Gaza and Israel now that Hamas and Israel have agreed on a cease-fire. The agreement involves  a stepwise release of both Israeli and Palestinian captives, as well as a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. But there is also fear: Will this cease fire last, and how will it shape the everyday lives of those living in these regions? How will communities in Gaza reorganize themselves? Who will govern Gaza in the future, and what will that future look like? Will the situation revert to the status quo that existed before October 6^th, or will the dynamics between both parties be permanently transformed ? And why has an agreement been reached now when previous attempts failed? 

Global consequences

These new developments come in a time of global turbulence. Last month, the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was toppled, and Trump is about to be inaugurated with yet unknown consequences for American foreign policy. How might these developments influence the future of Gaza? What will a potential end to the war mean for the mutual relations within the Middle East and its surrounding area? What future lies ahead for both Palestinians and Israel? 

Cultural anthropologist Ellen van Werkhoven and political scientist Niels Terpstra discuss how such global turbulence could influence the cultural fabric of Gaza and Israel.

About the speakers

Ellen van Werkhoven is a cultural anthropologist at Radboud University. Her research focusses on conflict, peace, arts-based resistance, settler-colonialism and the Middle-East.

Niels Terpstra is a political scientist at Radboud University. His research focuses on the analysis of armed conflict and peace issues. He also looks at international organizations, foreign and defense policy, and the political-strategic aspects of peace missions and military interventions.