Netanyahu’s warped logic
    By Daoud Kuttab After initially hinting that Israel might be open to some elements of the 2002 Arab Peace Plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu totally backtracked. “The Arab Peace Initiative includes positive elements that can help revive constructive negotiations with the Palestinians,†Netanyahu said shortly after right-wing member of Knesset […]
Occupied East Jerusalem Needs to Be Free
By Daoud Kuttab In its attempt to force itself on the Palestinians of Jerusalem, the Israeli government and various Israeli radical groups have an arsenal of actions, activities and slogans all with the same purpose. Unable to remove Palestinians from Jerusalem or wrestle total control over the holy city, various attempts are made to make […]
Why Palestinians are tuning into this reality TV show to select the next president
By Daoud Kuttab The bio of Waed Qannam reads like the perfect resume for a potential president of Palestine. Born in the Arroub refugee camp near Hebron in 1992; graduated in law from Palestine’s leading university, Al-Quds; holder of a master’s degree in law from Birzeit University; and active in the Fatah movement, Qannam became a resident of Jerusalem after […]
How to end cycle of violence between Palestinians, Israelis
By Daoud Kuttab The cycle of violence in Palestine and Israel has become so predictable that almost anyone following the news can easily forecast what will happen next. For Palestinians, Israelis and the international community, the predictability of the cycle of violence points to lifting the Israeli occupation as the most effective way to end […]
Jerusalem Day changes nothing
By Daoud Kuttab In its attempt to force itself on the Palestinians of Jerusalem, the Israeli government and various Israeli radical groups have an arsenal of actions, activities and slogans all with the same purpose. Unable to remove Palestinians from Jerusalem or wrestle total control over the holy city, various attempts are made to make […]
Is confederation viable for Jordan?
     By Daoud Kuttab More than two years have elapsed since the last direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. When the Israelis refused to release Palestinian prisoners from a previously agreed to list, the talks, in the words of US Secretary of State John Kerry, went up in the air. […]
Netanyahu, Lieberman deal meant to derail French plan
By Daoud Kuttab If the French diplomatic machine had a hard time scheduling a conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, it will soon find out that its effort to arrange an international conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be that much harder. In a three-day spat, a behind-the-scenes effort by Kerry and former […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]