By Daoud Kuttab The outgoing Palestinian prime minister was a unique Palestinian who fought hard against many odds, but in the end was unable to carry the mantle alone and without accommodations from Israel, the US or fellow Arab countries. What is unique about Salam Fayyad is that he combined true patriotic national service…

  By Daoud Kuttab Sports has often been a national unifying factor. Palestine is no exception. Palestinian sports has received public and community attention for some time, indeed, ever since the International Olympic committee allowed Palestinian athletes to participate in the Atlanta games in 1996. Majid Abu Maraheel, 32, a distance runner from Gaza and…

  By Daoud Kuttab University life and Palestinian nationalism have been inseparable since the 1960s, when the Fatah movement was formed by student activists in Egyptian universities. Since then and throughout the world, Palestinian nationalism has been part of university life, and nowhere more so than in Palestine. This fact has not gone unnoticed by…

  By Daoud Kuttab In order to predict who will replace the outgoing Palestinian prime minister, one needs to figure out the real reason for Mahmoud Abbas’ acceptance of his resignation. Did Abbas accept Salam Fayyad’s resignation because of his failure to fundraise, or was it because of internal pressure from Abbas’ Fatah movement? Three possible candidates’…

  By Daoud Kuttab It is not clear why US Secretary of State John Kerry chose to visit Ramallah and meet with Palestinian leaders before meeting with the Israelis. Is it a gesture to the Palestinians, or does he think he needs to get more out of them this round than from the Israelis? Is…

  By Daoud Kuttab Haifa University student Rabae Eid’s interruption of US President Barack Obama’s speech in Jerusalem was more than just an act of a radical heckler. The 24-year-old’s rejection of Obama’s demand that Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state echoed the feelings of more than 20% of the population of today’s Israel who are not…

  By Daoud Kuttab When President Barack Obama visited Bethlehem, the loudest group of protesters were families of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have husbands and sons locked up in Israeli jails. Some of the families were demanding that the Israelis honor promises made to release those held from before the Oslo agreements, other families complained…

  By Daoud Kuttab The death of Maysara Abu Hamdieh is not the first time a Palestinian prisoner has passed away while behind bars. Less than two months earlier, 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat died while being held in the Megiddo prison. However, the circumstances of the death of Abu Hamdieh, 64, touched a nerve. The fact that he…