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Egypt-Palestine ties set to improve after unity government
By Daoud Kuttab During the short election campaign for president of Egypt, candidate Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was asked about his vision for future relations between Egypt and Palestine. Sisi was very clear in his support for Palestinian rights, and he expressed the anger of the Egyptian people with the Islamic movement Hamas. Sisi, who has met Palestinian…
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Is kidnapping a game changer?
Following appeared in the Jordan Times Newspaper The kidnapping of three Israeli religious settlers in an area under the total administrative and security control of the Israeli army has partially brought back attention to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but for the wrong reasons. While it is natural that the phone calls by US Secretary of State…
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Palestinian prisoners detained without charge or trial hunger for freedom
Daoud Kuttab Since April 24, 120 out of the 189 Palestinians held without charge or trial have refused taking any food. Hundreds, and on some days thousands, of fellow prisoners also joined them. The usefulness of the protest was made clear by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’scall on Israel to either charge or release the Palestinian detainees….
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Palestinian prisoners’ hunger for freedom
Following appeared in the Jordan Times Newspaper By Daoud Kuttab Since April 24, 120 out of the 189 Palestinians held without charge or trial have refused taking any food. Hundreds, and on some days thousands, of fellow prisoners also joined them. The usefulness of the protest was made clear by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s…
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Netanyahu Panders to Far Right Settlers
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…
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Palestinians stumble on selection of foreign minister
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…
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Pope Francis exceeds expectations for Palestinians
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…
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Pope’s Visit: A Resounding Success
By Daoud Kuttab At all levels, the visit of Pope Francis to Jordan and Palestine was a huge success. For about 26 hours, everything was implemented as planned. And the few unplanned moments worked out quite well, leaving indelible memories and images. The Pope’s visit was billed as pilgrimage to the Holy Land and the…
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Pope visit to boost Palestinian calls for statehood
By Daoud Kuttab Political analyst Rami Khouri gives two main causes for the anger that has brought Arabs to the streets: humiliation and the search of legitimacy. These sources are clear as Palestinians prepare for the visit of Pope Francis to Palestine as part of his Holy Land visit that also includes Jordan and Israel. The Palestinians are looking to Pope Francis to help legitimize their aspirations of…
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Divide grows between Israeli, Palestinian journalists
By Daoud Kuttab Journalists are supposed to cover the news, not become the subject of it. This was the case, however, with two Israeli journalists who defied a request by Palestinian demonstrators not to film their bare faces. Most journalists in the field, especially photographers, know the feeling of angry demonstrators approaching a camera crew asking…