Palestine, media, Jordan, community radio, online journalism
By Daoud Kuttab After Kerry’s well-publicized July 19 statement in Amman and the highly visible opening session of the talks in Washington on July 29, both sides appear to have deliberately avoided the spotlight. The local media was full of stories about journalists trying to determine where the Jerusalem meeting was to take place, but to no avail. In the end, the…
By Daoud Kuttab Simultaneously with the resumption of peace talks, the Israeli high court has been hearing a petition by families of 15 Palestinians killed years ago, and whose bodies have been kept by the Israelis since. As the second round of face-to-face peace talks got underway, another emotional issue has arisen. The return of…
Following appeared in the Jordan Times By Daoud Kuttab When Palestinian negotiators enter the Jerusalem hotel designated for the face-to-face negotiations with their Israeli counterparts on Wednesday, they would complete falling into a well-planned negotiations trap. Palestinians have committed themselves to participate in the talks for the next nine months, irrespective of what Israel does…
By Daoud Kuttab As Palestinian and Israeli negotiators begin their second round of peace talks with a special focus on borders and security, an entirely Israeli set of judges will decide the fate of one Palestinian community south of Hebron. The area, known to Palestinians as Masafer Yatta, spans over 12,200 cultivated dunums and contains 12…
Daoud Kuttab Whenever peace negotiators agree to hold secret peace talks, rumors tend to fill the information gap. The absence of regular, updated news and comments on the day’s events and statements plays into the hands of radical groups whose aim is to thwart and derail any potential progress in the negotiations. When the…
By Daoud Kuttab Military occupation is not normal. Holding a population against its will using military power is considered by the civilized world in the 21st century an abnormal act that must be rectified. The issue, however, becomes complicated with 46 years of one people ruling over another. It is further complicated and can be…
By Daoud Kuttab Whenever peace talks are considered there are two elements that need to be attended to: the actual negotiations and the public at large. The negotiations themselves require agreement on the parties to the talks, the framework on which the talks are based, the duration of the talks and the various procedures that…
By Daoud Kuttab During the difficult reconciliation efforts between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas, a resolution was found to deal with the issue of talks with Israel, which the latter refuses to recognize. The Hamas leadership conceded that the PLO could negotiate with Israel provided that any agreement reached is put to a public…
By Daoud Kuttab Following appeared in various publications. One of the reasons for the success of social media’s Twitter platform is its ability to summarize a major issue in a few characters, while at the same time providing a link to give more details and credibility to the few words. This week a political…
By Daoud Kuttab Peace talks generally require a parallel strategy aimed at communicating and convincing a reluctant public of its importance, value and ultimate benefits to the warring parties. One might think that nine months of publicly stated “secret” talks would require little communication. But the contrary is the case. The United States, which…