Palestinians Face Limits on Internet, Cell Phones
By Daoud Kuttab Whenever I travel from Jordan to the state of Palestine, I have to use three different cell-phone devices, each with a different SIM card. I need to keep my regular Zain Jordanian cell and therefore I put it on phone roaming. But in Palestine I need to use two other cell phones.  Jawwal, […]
Palestinian Reconciliation: Three Tests
By Daoud Kuttab Despite the positive tone of the Abbas-Meshaal meetings in Cairo, it is safe to say that the long-awaited breakthrough in the Hamas-Fatah talks has not yet materialized. Maybe the best evidence for that failure lies in the fact that the two Palestinian leaders were not invited by the Egyptian president for a tripartite meeting. […]
Palestinians Lose Hope, Interest in Israeli Elections
By Daoud Kuttab For a long time, Palestinians followed the Israeli elections very closely. They were aware of who was up, who was down, the platforms of every party in Israel and how each’s victory or loss could affect the coalition and the peace process. Today in Palestine, there is no such interest — and it is not […]
Young Palestinian Activists Seize Initiative at Bab Al-Shams
By Daoud Kuttab While so-called leaders of the Palestinian resistance from Fatah and Hamas were traveling to Egypt to hold talks in five star hotels, another group of Palestinians were actually doing work worthy of the words “liberation and resistance.” In an organized and disciplined manner, nearly 150 Palestinian youths along with some international solidarity supporters […]
Abbas’ Newfound Courage
By Daoud Kuttab The decision by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to go to the UN to seek statehood recognition has become a defining element in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. After nearly 20 years of time wasted in useless negotiations, the Palestinian leader has finally decided, in a measured way, to buck the system and […]
Will the Third Palestinian Intifada Replicate the First?
By Daoud Kuttab Israeli security officials have been unable to clearly identify what is happening in the occupied state of Palestine, as the lack of a credible peace process leaves a big vacuum. Early in January, Colonel Yaniv Alaluf told soldiers the third Intifada has already begun. His statement, which was reproduced in Arab and Israeli […]
The New Line on the State of Palestine Passport
By Daoud Kuttab One of the most important decisions following the UN vote on Palestine was made in the temporary Palestinian capital of Ramallah. Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on Jan. 6, 2013, calling for the issuance of new passports, driver’s licenses, stamps and other national identification documents all under the title of the State […]
Palestinian Hopes for 2013
By Daoud Kuttab Although it is artificial, the end of a year is usually a good time to take stock and to think ahead. Some Palestinians evaluating where they are and assessing their future are cautiously optimistic. Others are downright pessimistic. Like any good debater, one can argue both sides. The reality on the […]
Palestinian Reconciliation at Snail’s Pace
By Daoud Kuttab The long-heralded Palestinian reconciliation is going on for another year despite wishes to the opposite earlier this year. Thus 2012 began with lots of promises that produced the Doha declaration on Feb. 6  between Hamas’ Khaled Mashal and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also the leader of Fatah. The idea behind […]
Is Jordan-Palestine Confederation Back on Negotiating Table?
By Daoud Kuttab The decision by the vast majority of UN members to recognize Palestine as an “observer state†has paved the way for more creative solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. One of the less-talked-about advantages of the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution recognizing Palestine on the 1967 borders is that it permanently ended […]