By Daoud Kuttab Palestinian journalist Salim Sweidan, owner of Nablus TV, was released Jan. 12 after having spent four days in jail. Sweidan, a member of the board of the Maan News Network, the leading independent satellite station and news website, was released on a bail of 1,000 Jordanian dinars ($1,400) after publishing an online…

               By Daoud Kuttab If the Obama administration’s prediction that 2016 will fail to witness the birth of the Palestinian state proves true, then this year should be dedicated to leadership transition. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, 81, needs to hand in his long-awaited resignation and Palestinians at large should…

By Daoud Kuttab A leading Knesset member of the predominantly Arab Joint List has described press reports of a $3.8 billion budget to improve Arab communities in Israel as exaggerated. In an interview with Al-Monitor, MK Aida Touma-Sliman commented, “Our estimate is that it amounts to nearly 10 billion shekels [$2.5 billion].”  Touma-Sliman further said of the funds…

By Daoud Kuttab As the leading Palestinian national movement celebrates its 51st anniversary, two major challenges loom large in determining whether it survives or disintegrates. Fatah, formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, was established in 1959 but declared itself publicly on Jan. 1, 1965. The first press release under the Fatah name announced a guerrilla…

By Daoud Kuttab Photos, posters, videos and a variety of imagery have been part of the Palestinian struggle since 1948. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East possesses possibly the largest and most impressive photo and video archivesof Palestinian refugees. These photos have been taken by professional photographers from…

By Daoud Kuttab A member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee has predicted that a possible decision to suspend security and economic ties with Israel will make it impossible for the Palestinian National Council (PNC) to hold a meeting planned for next February.  Hanna Amireh told Al-Monitor that plans are set to hold the Palestinian parliament in exile late February or…

By Daoud Kuttab The European Commission’s Nov. 11 “interpretive notice” clarifying “the application of existing [European] Union legislation on indication of origin of products to products originating in Israeli-occupied territories” was not arrived at quickly or easily. In fact, it dates back to the mid-1980s. In 1986, the issue had involved the legalities of how a Palestinian manufacturer in Ramallah could export…

By Daoud Kuttab Members of Jerusalem’s small Coptic Christian community were thoroughly surprised when the leader of the worldwide Coptic Orthodox Church broke a papal-imposed boycott and visited them. The arrival of Pope Tawadros II followed the death of Bishop Anba Abraham, the longtime spiritual leader of the Coptic church in Jerusalem and Palestine. The pope officiated at the funeral service held Nov. 28 in Jerusalem,…

By Daoud Kuttab The 8th Forum for Arab Investigative Journalists organised by Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), concluded this week in Amman with a gala dinner where the winners of the 2015 ARIJ Prize for best investigation in print and video categories were announced. The second prize in the short-form Film Category went to…