Daoud Kuttab

Following appeared in the Jordan Times Newspaper

By Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

Politicians the world overweigh their decision and statements on numerous levels: What will be their effect on the position, will they work and how will they affect the politicians’ long-term career? Israeli leaders, especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, do not appear to care about the consequences of their position, nor if it will work. Netanyahu’s only preoccupation appears to be pandering to his right-wing constituency in the hope that this will carry him to an unprecedented fourth term. Take his position on Iran, for example. He went against the world, confronted Israel’s strongest ally and failed miserably. Analysts would say that Netanyahu’s overreach was calculated. He exaggerated the Israeli fears of Iran even though his intelligence sources informed him that Iran was moderating its position after the victory of Hassan Rouhani. Israel’s exaggerated position re the new Ramallah government also fails to follow normal political calculations. Netanyahu knew very well that the new government did not have any Hamas members, that it would not be supported by a vote by Hamas legislature and that it will abide by the three conditions set by the international Quartet (under Israeli pressure) in 2007. Any basic survey of the expected reaction of the world community, including of the Obama administration, would have easily revealed that Washington and Brussels support the new Palestinian government. Sure enough, in both cases, Netanyahu’s outreach has failed to move the world community, including the US. The Obama administration has continued its peaceful negotiations with Iran undeterred and appears to be making progress in restraining any possible nuclear ambition in Tehran. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The last thing anyone following the Palestinian reconciliation talks expected was to have the PLO and Hamas negotiators disagree on who should be the foreign minister in the six-month interim period preceding elections. Most expected trouble with agreement on the Interior Ministry (solved by having Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah double up as interior minister) or the Finance Ministry (solved by keeping on current Finance Minister Shukri Bishara).

Foreign ministers are always in precarious positions: They are part of a cabinet, and therefore subservient to the prime minister, yet the president, who runs the country’s foreign policy portfolio, usually wants the foreign minister to report to him directly.

Riyad al-Malki has been a loyal foreign minister to Abbas since 2007, both under former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and current Prime Minister Hamdallah. But Hamas and some members of the Fatah movement are opposed to Malki staying in his position. Malki — a former activist with the left-wing, secular Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and an outspoken advocate of nonviolence — doesn’t align with the profile of an Islamic resistance movement. Fatah activists who have seen Malki and Abbas circumvent many of their members when making crucial diplomatic postings quietly share Hamas’ desire for anyone but Malki. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

It is normal for popes to be loved and followed by Catholics. But the visit of Pope Francis to Jordan and Palestine has shown a Christian leader who is extremely popular in two countries where the Christian populations are quite small. Pope Francis’ visit to the Holy Landbegan in Jordan where a mass was attended by 30,000 believers, including many coming from nearby Lebanon, followed by a visit in the company of King Abdullah to the baptismal site of Bethany beyond the Jordan.

The official welcome by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Pope Francis paled in importance to what would happen next as the pope traveled through the streets of Bethlehem and drove by the Aida refugee camp, which is adjacent to the 10-meter (33-foot) wall that Israel has erected, encircling Rachel’s Tomb deep inside Palestinian areas. For days before the visit, Palestinian youth and Israeli soldiers have been in constant battle. Two days prior to the visit, Israeli troops entered the Palestinian area and whitewashed the entire wall to prevent the pope from seeing the graffiti that has been filling it up. The night before the arrival of the pope, however, youth spray-painted new slogans, this time in English with the hope that as he drove by, the pope would learn about the aspirations of Palestinians to live in freedom. Continue Reading »