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Will Palestine Bid Fayyad Farewell?
By Daoud Kuttab The next few days will reveal whether Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will stay in his position or be replaced. The Palestinian cabinet is due to vote during its weekly meeting Tuesday, March 26 on the annual budget of the state of Palestine. If the budget is approved and…
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Mixed Reactions in Bethlehem To President Obama’s Visit
By Daoud Kuttab BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The mayor of Bethlehem, Vera Baboun, was sure that the khamsin sand storm that hit the area on Friday was divine. Speaking to Al-Monitor from her Bethlehem home, the mayor said that the sudden weather change was a divine act, forcing the US president to travel by car into Bethlehem rather than by helicopter….
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Palestinians Hope Obama’s Words Mean Action
By Daoud Kuttab The hashtag that was trending on Thursday afternoon said it all. ObamainIsrael was one of the top hashtags on Twitter most of the afternoon of March 21, especially during and after the speech made by President Barack Obama to a group of young Israelis. There was no doubt about the goal…
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Palestinian Union Boss Emerges as Power Broker
By Daoud Kuttab He is probably not very well known outside the territories of the state of Palestine, but if you ask almost any Palestinian, they would most likely know who Bassam Zakarneh is. Technically, he is a member of the Revolutionary Council in Fatah. But ask any Fatah activist and they will say that he…
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Why Obama Should Place A Wreath at Arafat’s Grave
By Daoud Kuttab Less than a week before the important visit that the US president will make to Israel, Palestine and Jordan, there are some mysteries as to the Palestinian leg of his visit. While the most repeated itinerary lists Ramallah as a city where the US president will be spending a few hours,…
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The New Pope and Palestine
By Daoud Kuttab Electing the leader of the world’s Catholic faithful is always an unpredictable affair. The choice of Argentina’s cardinal, now Pope Francis, has lived up to the mystery. What concerns people the most is the political direction that the leader of the world’s more than 1 billion Catholics will take on issues such…
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Palestinians Tire of Israeli ‘Games’ on Settlements
By Daoud Kuttab One thing is clear before, during and after the visit of President Barack Obama to the region: When it comes to the issue of Jewish settlements in Palestine, it is all a game. A few weeks before the visit of the US president, Israelis were rushing to build as many housing units…
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A New Liberty Sweeps Through Jordan Radio
By Rana F. Sweis Published March 6, 2013 AMMAN — As the sun rises over the Jordanian capital, the problems of the day start to stream in to Radio Fann. In the studio, producers scramble to keep up with calls and e-mails from listeners complaining about issues like water shortages and bureaucratic failures. In a…
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Palestinian Finance Minister Resigns Amid Cash Crisis
By Daoud Kuttab Khalil Abu Arafeh’s cartoon, which ran in the Sunday, March 3 edition of the leading Palestinian newspaper Al Quds, left no doubt as to the reason behind the resignation of Nabil Qassis, the Palestinian minister of finance. Abu Arafeh showed an empty safe, with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s hands folded next to…
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Palestinian Reconciliation Ends in Angry Exchange
By Daoud Kuttab The Feb. 20 event held at the PLO offices in Ramallah was supposed to produce a warming of relations between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the various PLO groups led by Fatah. At the podium was Dr. Abdel Aziz Dweik, the former head of the Palestine Legislative Council, who was…