José S. Vericat

Dr. Vericat  obtained an MIA at Columbia University (2012) followed by a Ph.D. in Oriental Studies at Oxford University (2016), then worked as Israel-Palestine Representative for The Carter Center and Team Lead/Senior Adviser for the European Institute of Peace (EIP), where he established its Israel-Palestine program. Since finishing his doctorate, he has focused on finding a solution to the political and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He has pushed for Palestinian elections, intra-Palestinian reconciliation and West Bank-Gaza reunification in dialogue with all major Palestinian factions as well as key Israeli and international actors. 

He is a member of Yale Law School's Middle East Legal Studies Seminar (MELSS) and alongside his engagements as a conflict resolution practitioner, he has continued research on Hamas, the Gaza Strip and Palestinian Islamism, presenting at academic conferences and publishing in academic journals.

As a research fellow, he seeks to complete the manuscript for a "A Solid Building", a book examining the relation between religion and politics within Hamas through a historical lens. In the context of events in Gaza and Israel since October 7, 2023, he will also continue research on a series of related topics on which he has engaged for years, gaining significant first-hand experience and rare insight: intra-Palestinian reconciliation negotiations; internal debates within Hamas and the broader Palestinian Islamic trend about the future of the movement; the background to and causes of the October 7 attacks; and Israeli, U.S. and EU policy towards Gaza.