Excluded Palestinians: Mediator Gatekeeping in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

The document argues that mediation gatekeeping—the process of defining the 'terms of reference' for who may participate in negotiations—has systematically excluded Palestinians, either as a whole people, as a political entity (the PLO), or as a specific political group (Hamas). It examines three phases: the 1940s UN-led armistice negotiations, the 1970s US-led diplomacy, and the 2000s Quartet demands. The author contends that while exclusionary formats can simplify processes or end specific bilateral conflicts, they often fail to address the core grievances of the conflict, thereby making long-term, sustainable peace more difficult to achieve.

• In the late 1940s, the United Nations established terms of reference that defined parties to the conflict as "Governments," which effectively excluded Palestinians because they lacked an internationally recognized government.
• During the 1940s armistice negotiations, the UN mediator Ralph Bunche operated as a "weak mediator" who lacked the leverage to change the exclusionary structure already agreed upon by the UN.
• In the 1970s, the United States acted as a "manipulative mediator" and active gatekeeper by creating a framework that explicitly excluded the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
• The exclusionary nature of the 1970s US-led process resulted in a separate peace agreement between Israel and Egypt that, while ending that specific conflict, may have prolonged the broader Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts by reducing incentives for Israeli concessions.
• In the 2000s, the Quartet (UN, EU, USA, and Russia) implemented a "ticket of admission" mechanism that excluded Hamas from negotiations by demanding they first recognize Israel, renounce violence, and adhere to previous agreements.
• The author concludes that while exclusionary mediation can simplify a process by reducing the number of actors, it is detrimental to sustainable peace because it removes the ability to address the core questions of the conflict.

APA

Peace Research Institute Oslo (n.d.). Excluded Palestinians: Mediator Gatekeeping in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/60c03efc-8ccc-4954-a002-db3867cd0fb5/Jensehaugen - Excluded Palestinians Mediator Gatekeeping in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - FAIR Case Brief 2.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Peace Research Institute Oslo. Excluded Palestinians: Mediator Gatekeeping in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict. n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/60c03efc-8ccc-4954-a002-db3867cd0fb5/Jensehaugen - Excluded Palestinians Mediator Gatekeeping in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - FAIR Case Brief 2.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Peace Research Institute Oslo |title=Excluded Palestinians: Mediator Gatekeeping in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/60c03efc-8ccc-4954-a002-db3867cd0fb5/Jensehaugen - Excluded Palestinians Mediator Gatekeeping in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - FAIR Case Brief 2.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{peaceresearchinstituteoslondexcluded, author = {{Peace Research Institute Oslo}}, title = {{Excluded Palestinians: Mediator Gatekeeping in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/60c03efc-8ccc-4954-a002-db3867cd0fb5/Jensehaugen - Excluded Palestinians Mediator Gatekeeping in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - FAIR Case Brief 2.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }