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Israel denies Christian peacemaker from entry
By Daoud Kuttab Israeli security officials at the King Hussein (Allenby) bridge turned back an American peace volunteer who is part of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron twice in the past week. Jonathan Brenneman, 25, from St. Marys Ohio was turned back September 25th after a five hour wait at the border crossing. He had been…
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Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Comes to Head in Area C
By Daoud Kuttab So long as Palestinian-Israeli negotiations are not producing an agreement, there is at least one area that will continue to be a powder keg: the Jordan Valley. Actions on the ground in any conflict often reflect points of political disagreement. The US-sponsored negotiations, which are expected to last nine months, appear…
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US Pushes Palestine Economic Plan To Break Stalemate on Peace Talks
By Daoud Kuttab The apparent failure of the ongoing secret Palestinian-Israeli talks appears to have led their US sponsors to put more emphasis on economic issues. A three-year plan has been drawn up by the US peace delegation working through the offices of the Quartet, still nominally headed by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair….
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International Voluntarism in Palestine
By Daoud Kuttab The following appeared in the Jordan Times The Palestinian cause continues to attract supporters from around the world. Volunteers wishing to give some of their time and expertise in solidarity with Palestinians have become a regular feature in Palestinian society. Many young people wanting to spend a year or so in a…
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An Arab “Third Wayâ€
By Daoud Kuttab AMMAN – Throughout the post-colonial period, Arab countries have consistently failed to produce an efficient – let alone democratic – system of government. Now, after a half-century of competition between military or royal dictatorships and militant Islamist regimes, many Arabs are again seeking a “third way†– a path toward a…
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Two-State Solution Under Siege
by Daoud Kuttab Proponents of the two-state solution have for years faced a grim outlook. Every new Jewish settlement that pops up on the lands slated for a Palestinian state has added to the despair and disillusionment with any peace process. After 46 years of military occupation and colonial policies highlighted by an aggressive attempt to build…
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Russia’s Mideast Role A Plus for Palestinians
By Daoud Kuttab The Russian-American breakthrough that has averted an attack on Syria for using chemical weapons has given some in the Middle East hope that such cooperation can be helpful in the Arab-Israeli conflict. While this week marks the 40th anniversary of the 1973 war, few are suggesting that the current US-Russian cooperation…
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Naming and Shaming in Jordan
By Daoud Kuttab Musab Shawabkeh, the skinny young journalist who has been involved in investigative journalism since his second year at college came running to my office this week. He had made a discovery about Mawared, the flag ship company owned by the Jordanian armed forces. As part of a report he was researching…
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The Russians are coming
Following appeared in Jordan Times and Huffington Post. By Daoud Kuttab Shortly after the vote in the British parliament to oppose a strike on Syria, an American newspaper reported the decision of the House of Commons in an unusual way. In a spoof to the independence cry, the Daily News ran a front-page headline repeating twice…
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15 Ways Oslo Accords Serve Israel
By Daoud Kuttab Twenty years ago, then-Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn to publicly declare mutual recognition and to sign the interim memorandum of understanding that had been agreed to in secret talks in Oslo. The Oslo Accordsand the various agreements…