CIAO DATE: 8/5/2007
2007 May
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
On April 24, 2007, Wafa' Abdel Rahman, Owen Kirby, and Mohammad Yaghi addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum on the Palestinian social and political environment since Hamas's victory in January 2006 legislative elections. Owen Kirby is the manager of the political pillar of the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative. Mohammad Yaghi is the Washington Institute's Lafer international fellow and a columnist for the Palestinian daily al-Ayyam. Wafa' Abdel Rahman is the founder and director of Filastiniyat and is currently visiting Washington on an Eisenhower fellowship. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.