What are the main challenges that Palestinian citizens of Israel  face in terms of leadership? What opportunities exist in the current political context to gain visibility and overcome geo-political fragmentation with those in the West Bank and Gaza?

In our first policy lab of 2019, Al-Shabaka analysts Abir Kopty and Amjad Iraqi join Yara Hawari to weigh in on these questions and more.

Abir Kopty holds an MA in Political Communication from the City University, London, and is currently a PhD candidate at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin. Her research interests include power dynamics in online communities and the use of social media networks for social and political activism. Her commentary and analysis frequently appear in Middle East Eye and TRT, among other outlets.

Amjad Iraqi is an advocacy coordinator at Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, where he has worked since 2012. He is also a contributing editor at +972 Magazine, and has published articles in the London Review of Books and Le Monde Diplomatique, among other outlets.

Yara Hawari is the Palestine Policy Fellow of Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. She completed her PhD in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter. She has taught various undergraduate courses at the University of Exeter and continues to work as a freelance journalist and writer, publishing for various media and academic outlets, including Al Jazeera English and Middle East Eye.

About the Policy Lab Program: Al-Shabaka's Palestine Policy Lab is an online live-stream space, where audiences can engage directly with expert analysts from our nearly 200-member network as they craft policies and strategies related to Palestine. The labs are free and open for public participation, inviting viewers to join in on policy discussions.

Palestinian Leadership in Israel: Challenges & Opportunities