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Israel ignores calls to lift Gaza siege
By Daoud Kuttab Indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks under the sponsorship of the Egyptian government have collapsed, but if and when negotiations resume, they will most likely pick up where the talks left off. Despite Israeli arguments to the contrary, the 11-point Egyptian proposal appears to be closer to the Israeli point of view. The only real problem for Israel has…
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Palestinians, Europeans support reopening Rafah crossing
By Daoud Kuttab One word has been missing from the Egyptian-sponsored indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks and the various leaks about them: Rafah. The town along the Gaza-Egyptian border has become synonymous with some of the worst examples of Arabs’ indirect contribution to the illegal siege on the Gaza Strip. To be fair, Rafah is only one of six…
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Palestinian unity scores concessions from Israel in Cairo
By Daoud Kuttab The decision by the Palestinian delegation in Cairo to extend the cease-fire another five days and the statements by its head, Azzam al-Ahmad, that most issues for a permanent agreement have been resolved point to a breakthrough of sorts. Gazans appear to be on the verge of seeing the gradual lifting of a cruel…
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To Accomplish Liberation, Palestinian Unity Must Be Preserved
By Daoud Kuttab It was no coincidence that the announcement of the permanent ceasefire agreement was be made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his Ramallah headquarters. While Abbas may have been battered in social media and in activists’ circles, it is clear that, in real terms, he emerged as a key player. Hamas’ enmity…
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Jerusalem Grandfather with Hope
By Daoud Kuttab This week I became a grandfather. My eldest daughter, Tamara, gave birth to a baby girl in Jerusalem; baby and mother are healthy and fine. This piece of good news did not come so easily emotionally or politically, however. For weeks, we have been hearing, seeing and talking to people about children…
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Momentum grows for ICC action on Gaza
By Daoud Kuttab As the sounds of gunfire in the Gaza Strip begin to cease, international human rights organizations, legal experts and political activists are speaking up about the need for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate whether war crimes were committed during the Gaza conflict this summer. The ICC, created by means of…
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War on Gaza a ‘Tie’ With Hamas
By Daoud Kuttab The images were different, but two words were repeated in most TV graphics announcing the start of the ceasefire. “Gaza victorious” (Gaza tantaser) were the words superimposed on images of Palestinian fighters, rockets and scenes of destruction in the background. So was Gaza really victorious? The destruction, the nearly 1900 Palestinians killed and the…
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Israel’s Gaza offensive resurrects Hamas
By Daoud Kuttab While the war on Gaza is still not officially over, it is possible to draw some early conclusions. At this moment, the two protagonists, Israel and Hamas, seem to have reached little more than a draw. Neither side has accomplished what it publicly set out to do. Israel said its aims were…
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Gaza war was built on lies
By Daoud Kuttab Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip began, continued and is ending on a lie. The chief liar and man responsible for the disproportionate use of Israeli firepower that has resulted in nearly 2,000 Palestinian deaths — mostly civilians — versus three Israeli civilians, is none other than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While the war in…
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West Bank Palestinians raise money for Gaza
By Daoud Kuttab A burly man driving a Land Rover ran quickly into the Greenland supermarket and asked for 10 large boxes of bottled water. When the owner of the store, where I happened to be at the time, asked what the water was for, the man answered that it was a contribution to Gaza….