Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.
Neomi Neumann is a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute, focusing on Palestinian affairs. She formerly served as head of the research unit at the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Neumann recently began her doctoral studies at Tel Aviv University.
Brief Analysis
Join us for an expert webcast examining the Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement, which includes the release of thirty-three Israeli hostages in the agreement's first phase. Watch live starting at 11:00 a.m. (1600 GMT) on Friday, January 17, 2025.
After months of tortuous negotiations, the U.S. and Qatari governments have announced a ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel war that includes the release of thirty-three Israeli hostages during the agreement’s initial phase. The accord envisions three phases in all, though negotiations over phases two and three will not begin until phase one is well underway. Will this ceasefire hold, and if so, what implications might it have for Israel’s Likud-led government, Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority? In Washington, what role did Donald Trump’s incoming administration play in reaching the agreement, and what do its terms tell us about his Middle East policy in the months ahead?
To discuss these and other questions, The Washington Institute is pleased to host a virtual Policy Forum featuring:
Dennis Ross, the Institute’s Davidson Distinguished Fellow and former U.S. presidential envoy for Middle East peace.
Neomi Neumann, a visiting fellow at the Institute, former head of the research unit at the Israel Security Agency/Shin Bet, and coauthor (with Ghaith al-Omari) of the 2024 report "Reforming the Palestinian Authority: A Roadmap for Change."
The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Florence and Robert Kaufman Family.
