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What is an accepted mode of resisting Israeli occupation?
     By Daoud Kuttab A Palestinian supporter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement debated online a European official in Israel who insisted that the EU is opposed to boycotts of Israel and rejects BDS. At the end of the twitter debate, the Palestinian posed the following simple question: “Could you tell…
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Magnetic card system restricts Palestinian visits to Jerusalem
By Daoud Kuttab One of the leading sources of anger among Palestinians under occupation is restriction on their movement. Palestinians living in the West Bank cannot travel to Gaza, and Palestinians in Gaza are normally not allowed to leave Gaza. Travel from the occupied territories to neighboring Jordan and Egypt also involves various kinds of restrictions. After the intervention…
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A holistic approach to press freedom
     By Daoud Kuttab The celebration of Press Freedom Day by Jordan’s UNESCO office by means of a debate on this year’s theme of access to information revealed the gap that exists between Jordan’s public position and the reality. For press freedom to exist and flourish, a holistic approach is needed….
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Can France Make Middle East Peace?
  By Daoud Kuttab RAMALLAH – Since the beginning of the year, the French government has been building support for an international conference to restart the Israel-Palestine peace process. France deserves applause for its brave effort to revive a process that has been going nowhere for the better part of a decade. But success…
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Palestine to raise concerns about settlement-based teams at FIFA conference
By Daoud Kuttab The president of the Palestinian Football Federation (PFF), Jibril Rajoub, plans to raise at the FIFA congress in Mexico the status of five soccer clubs based in Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. The five teams located in the West Bank are Beitar Givat Ze’ev, Beitar Ironi Ariel, Ironi Yehuda, Beitar Ironi…
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Challenges facing Palestinian journalists
        By Daoud Kuttab For most journalists, the challenge of doing their job usually comes from one source. However, restrictions and challenges facing Palestinian journalists are multi-levelled and much more complicated. While most human and media rights organisations usually list governments as restricting journalists, Palestinians living in the occupied territories…
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Why is Jordan restricting Palestinians’ travel?
By Daoud Kuttab Like so many accomplished students, Benaz Someir, a Palestinian from Gaza, chose to attend Birzeit University. Â While pursuing her degree in journalism, Benaz met and later married Walid Batrawi, a fellow BA journalism student from Ramallah. For family and professional reasons, Benaz, a resident of Khan Yunis in Gaza, requested and was…
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‘bridging’ dilemma
By Daoud Kuttab One issue subject to intense discussions is the “bridge†policy. That is, King Hussein Bridge, which connects Palestine to Jordan and, by extension, to the rest of the world. The bridge policy is unknown and undeclared. The main reason is that the bridge is not an international crossing point. While Jordan signed…
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Palestinians from Gaza who hold properly issued passports are being discriminated against if they were born in Gaza
By Daoud Kuttab Of all the Jordanian policies that have often been the subject of intense discussion, the one subject that has been a taboo for anyone to talk about has been the ‘bridge’ policy. The reference here is to how decisions are made in regards to travel on the King Hussein Bridge which is…
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Newton’s theory in Palestine
   By Daoud Kuttab The cycle of violence in Palestine is so predictable that almost anyone following the news can easily forecast what happens next. This ability to anticipate what happens if the cycle of violence is not broken is perhaps the most concrete proof that the Israeli occupation is the source of…