UNESCO head’s attempt to ease Israeli outrage backfires
By Daoud Kuttab A statement issued by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has angered Palestinian officials and activists. Bokova made the statement Oct. 14, the same day Israel decided to suspend its relations with UNESCO due to the organization’s resolution on Israeli violations in Jerusalem that Israel feels ignored Jewish connections to Al-Haram al-Sharif compound. Bokova […]
UNESCO vote is about Israeli occupation, not Jewish history
     By Daoud Kuttab The recent resolution that was approved by the world’s cultural body about the old city of Jerusalem, Al Haram Al Sharif and the Ibrahimi Mosque had nothing to do with Jews or Jewish history. A close reading of the resolutions passed by UNESCO shows that they are […]
Assessing the aftermath of postponed Palestinian elections
By Daoud Kuttab The discussions in Palestinian homes in the city of Beit Jala this week focused on the foresight of the town’s mayor, Nicola Khamis. During a very close municipal election in 2012, Khamis had accepted a rotation agreement in which he would serve as mayor in the last two years of the scheduled […]
Abbas unfazed by criticism of participation in Peres’ funeral
By Daoud Kuttab A senior adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas visited a local vegetable store in Ramallah on Oct. 2. The store owner and the adviser talked about Abbas’ having attended the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sept. 30. When the owner of the vegetable store conveyed his criticism, the adviser related […]
Palestinian leadership decision long overdue
By Daoud Kuttab The United States is not the only place that will be witnessing a leadership change. Elections for top institutions and the overall leadership will be taking place within the two leading Palestinian political movements. Fateh is expected to hold its seventh congress this winter and Hamas is expected to choose its political […]
The gas deal
By Daoud Kuttab The American Noble Energy Company signed a 15-year agreement with the National Electric Power Company to ensure its supply with natural gas at the cost of $10 billion. The gas will be coming from the newly discovered huge gas wells in the eastern Mediterranean and will most likely be piped into Jordan […]
PERES FROM A PALESTINIAN POINT OF VIEW
By Daoud Kuttab Shimon Peres will be remembered mostly for the same reason the assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is: both were architects of the Oslo Peace Accords and were awarded, along with Yasser Arafat, the Nobel Peace Prize for this agreement. Both Rabin and Peres were hardened Israeli Zionists committed to the need […]
Palestinians and Peres: A love-hate relationship
By Daoud Kuttab The atmosphere at the Palestinian ministry was as cold as ice. News had come of the condolence statement issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the death of former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres. The press was asking for comments, but no one at the ministry wanted to talk to the press. A […]
FIFA under pressure to sanction Israel for settlement games
By Daoud Kuttab The world’s leading soccer association is under pressure by the world’s leading human rights organization to live up to its own rules and ethical guidelines. A well-researched study, which included aerial photos, by Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Sept. 25 for six clubs of the Israeli Football Association (IFA) to stop […]
Democracy is impossible with occupation and rebellion rule
By Daoud Kuttab The overtly exaggerated power of electoral democracy has once again been put into question in the Middle East. Municipal elections slated for the West Bank and Gaza on October 8th will not take place due officially to a decision of the Palestinian High Court. But the high court decision -whether you believe […]