Duke University’s Provost Initiative on the Middle East is an ongoing effort at Duke University to establish rigorous and respectful debate in which differing perspectives are welcome on current and past conflicts in the region, and also engage Duke faculty and students in projects working with partners in the region. As part of this initiative Duke University is partnering with two Middle East civil society organizations, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (IL) and Damour for Community Development (PA) to convene a conference in Washington D.C., September 18-19, 2025, bringing together Palestinian and Israeli voices to strategize ways to move from destruction towards sustainable regional recovery in the Middle East.
The Arava Institute and Damour hosted a unique invitation-only conference in Athens, Greece at the end of January 2025, convening 60 Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian water, energy, food security and environmental (WEFE) experts from academia, non-governmental and governmental organizations. The conference focused on the security of supply of services in the region with an emphasis on Gazan recovery and development. The result of the conference was the decision by Damour and the Arava Institute to pursue seven initiatives to improve natural resource supplies and humanitarian wellbeing. Since the beginning of February, seven project groups have been established and are meeting once every two weeks virtually or in person. Palestinian and Israeli experts discuss practical ways to advance projects, which will provide more drinking water, sanitation, water for agriculture, electricity, food security and natural services to vulnerable peoples in the region.
Building on this initial success, the goals of the DC “From Destruction to Sustainable Regional Recovery” are to:
- Assess the current situation in the Middle East including Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and its neighbours, including stress on all natural resources and infrastructure.
- Engage the US Administration in a pragmatic process to rebuild Gaza and the West Bank’s economies to support growth and prosperity and reduce extremism and violence.
- Explore how the Abraham Accords can be leveraged to support the rebuilding and recovery of the region.
- Showcase ongoing and new cross-border cooperative resource and infrastructure initiatives between Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians and how the Track II format enables cooperation even during periods of political turbulence, supporting a foundation of stability in the region.
- Focus on practical steps with rapid responses to real life challenges and improvement in people’s lives even before broader agreements are reached.
- Explore funding opportunities that will enable cross-border cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians to take hold, develop, and flourish.
- Widen the focus to view the challenges and opportunities within a regional context beyond Israel, Gaza, West Bank and Jordan.
- Address broader political issues affecting Palestinian Israeli relations with a political horizon, alongside a diplomatic process moving towards a two-state solution.
Conference Working Agenda
Thursday, September 18
Conference doors open – coffee and tea available
8:30 am
Current humanitarian and environmental crisis in Palestine and its impact on the region
9:00 am
Overview of the current humanitarian and environmental crisis in Palestine - Gaza and the West Bank and the geopolitical impacts on Israel, Jordan, Egypt and other countries in the region. Presentation of specific challenges of focus for this conference.
Keynote Speaker: A senior administration official connected to the Middle East
Pathways to regional recovery– the contribution of regional players
9:45 am
Planned speaker invitees:
Amb. Stuart Jones, President, Middle East Institute
Dr. Robert Satloff, Segal Executive Director, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Coffee break
10:30 am
A Track II response to the humanitarian and environmental crisis and the political stagnation
11:00 am
Introduction to the Track II Environmental Forum, and the effectiveness of applied environmental diplomacy in the region. Presentation of the Track II Environmental initiative as an important paradigm for macro approaches to Gaza, West Bank and the region. Discussion of the Cross-border Water, Energy, Food Security and Environment (WEFE) Experts Forum.
Current Track II Initiatives
- Jumpstarting Hope in Gaza – response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
- EcoFuture – sustainable development in the Jordan Valley
Lunch
12:00 pm
New development initiatives resulting from the Cross-border (WEFE) Experts Conference
1:00 pm
- Power for Gaza - Solar Field in Sinai
- West Bank Electricity Infrastructure Bottlenecks
- Jordan River/Dead Sea Rehabilitation
- Trans-boundary Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
- Solid Waste Management in West Bank and Gaza
- Gaza Island Rubble Reuse Proposal
Coffee Break
3:00 pm
Looking forward to: A Political Vision for the Middle East
3:30 pm
A presentation of current initiatives to resolve the Middle East Conflict through diplomacy and negotiations. Possible topics:
- US and EU
- Arab League Initiative
- Atlantic Council Realign for Palestine
- Olmert Kidwa Two State Proposal
Closing of first day
5:00 pm
reception
5:30 pm
Friday, September 19
Conference doors open – coffee and tea available
8:30 am
Policy Actions and Finance
9:00 am
A panel of US and international funders to discuss policy actions, which will support the recovery and development of Gaza and the West Bank integrating micro and macro projects.
- What are the challenges and how can they be addressed? Linking policy and finance
- Recognize and empower the Cross-border WEFE Experts Forum to talk about pragmatic issues, to share knowledge and formulate pragmatic and specific solutions.
- Focus on humanitarian work in Gaza and private sector engagement in the West Bank.
- The role of the PA and other non-Hamas actors in recovery and development.
- Focus on the financial challenges and possibilities for moving forward.
Conference Summary
10:00 am
Coffee break
10:30 am
initiatives & funding meetings
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Scheduled meetings between conference participants and Arava Institute and Damour leaders regarding individual initiatives and funding opportunities. Meetings will be scheduled the day before.