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The document argues that the Palestinian self-rule scheme launched by Menachem Begin in December 1977 was a strategic mechanism of 'preventive diplomacy' designed to facilitate the Egyptian-Israeli peace process without conceding any sovereignty or territory to Palestinians. While President Jimmy Carter initially sought a comprehensive peace including Palestinian representation and Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, he eventually accepted self-rule as a temporary starting point. The author contends that Begin never intended to implement the scheme, using it instead to sideline the PLO and maintain Israeli control over the West Bank and Gaza. The process culminated in the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, after which Begin further watered down the autonomy plan and eventually torpedoed the negotiations entirely with the July 1980 Jerusalem Basic Law, which declared Jerusalem the indivisible capital of Israel.

The author replicates and extends the civil war model of Collier & Hoeffler (2002), finding that while natural resources correlate with conflict, the drivers differ by region. In the Middle East, the 'greed' explanation—where rebels fight to seize resources—is less plausible than a 'rentier-state' model, where oil-funded authoritarianism, corruption, and slow growth generate grievances. The study also finds that democracy is significantly and negatively related to civil conflict, a finding absent in the original Collier & Hoeffler analysis.

The document critically examines the 'turn towards technology' in humanitarian aid, specifically regarding sexual violence. It warns that technological solutions often fail due to inadequate problem definitions and the exclusion of affected populations. The author identifies four key areas of concern: the creation of 'digital bodies' (data representations of physical people), the use of intrusive wearables for reproductive and health tracking, the 'technologization' of safeguarding through quantification and criminal law, and the use of data-driven vulnerability assessments that may render male victims invisible. Finally, it cautions against 'humanitarian experimentation,' where untested technologies are deployed in fragile environments without sufficient ethical frameworks, potentially introducing new harms to victims of gender-based violence.

The EU-UNDP Low Emission Capacity Building Programme is a collaborative initiative funded by the European Commission and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. It aims to strengthen the institutional and technical capacities of developing countries to transition toward low-emission, climate-resilient pathways by supporting the development of GHG inventories, Low-Emission Development Strategies (LEDS), and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).

The report details two networking events held between November 2020 and February 2021 as part of the sWASH & grow project. These events, coordinated by WIN Water, aimed to bridge the gap between innovators (sellers) and relief organizations (buyers) to scale circular and sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) innovations. The activities included a 'Digital Water' workshop focusing on digitalization in challenged regions and a dedicated event on business models for clean water and sanitation in disaster and developing areas. In total, approximately 90 participants from various countries and sectors attended, resulting in identified needs for standardized data forms, better understanding of humanitarian procurement, and the development of local value chains.