Abstract
This study will explore how certain factors have affected the contemporary Israeli-Palestinian peace process and why this stalemate has continued to plague peace negotiations. While there are many causes of the breakdown of peace, I will focus on three primary catalysts for unrest. Namely, the rise of the Israeli right-wing and its hawkish policies, the growth of the settlement movement as an obstruction to a two-state solution, and the rise of Hamas as a spoiler for negotiations. This study will demonstrate how strangling the peace process serves to legitimize and empower Hamas and the Israeli right-wing to the detriment of peace. Thus, my research suggests that for reasons of personal and party gain, negotiations are more likely to fail under a right-leaning Israeli government, an increasingly powerful settlement movement, and the emboldenment of organizations such as Hamas who actively seek to sabotage peace work.