Israeli and US officials have been talking about the need for various other Arab regimes to learn the lesson from the scenes of anti Saddam Iraqis celebrating in the center of in Baghdad. Certainly the lesson of April 9th in Baghdad is that oppressive dictators will one day have to face their people. While it is important for people and leaders to learn the lessons of this war in Iraq, there are lessons that should not be learnt. Continue Reading »

The road from Jerusalem to Ramallah, especially near Qalandia refugee camp is still full of potholes. But the Qalandia checkpoint, which used to take some times hours to cross, was a breeze, this week. I drove right up to the checkpoint without any delay and the Israeli soldier quickly pass me through. I had a similar experience on the way back. A similar situation has been reported at the dreaded Surda checkpoint connecting Ramallah to Bir Zeit. Palestinians in other locations are reporting similar easing of the checkpoints. Continue Reading »

Day 1 Thursday March 20, 2003

Although the ultimatum had ended after midnight last night, I was sure that the really war would not start for a few days. I was surprised upon waking up to hear that war had actually commenced with the missiles attacking against Baghdad. Before I left home for work, the Iraqi Interior Minister Muhammad Said Sahaf came on television and made a short introduction saying and then introducing the President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. Continue Reading »

In the pre-war rumblings going on in the United States a strange argument is being made. War supporters are chiding permanent members of the UN Security Council for reflecting international (as well as some American) public opinion by contemplating the possibility of a veto to any resolution that will approve war. Countries like France, Russia and China are being accused of making the world body “irrelevant” and “obstructing and paralyzing” the work of the UN. William Safire went as far as to call this anti-war position a “further abdication of collective security.” Continue Reading »

Naser Qamash, Roman Haddad and Muhanad Mbideen have been held in the Jewedeh prison south west of Amman since January 17th. They are held in jail pending a state security trial looking into the government’s case against their newspaper Al Hellal. The weekly paper published an article dealing with the personal life of the Prophet Muhammad. Although the article is mostly a collection of legally published materials, including books available in Jordanian prisons, the government feels that the article touches on religious sensitivities. But while Jordanian law provides for a civilian prosecution of journalists for inflaming religious sensitivities, the government has chosen to use the state security courts for this case. Using the temporary law 150, which criminalizes journalistic-related crimes, the state prosecutor is holding the three journalists in a detention center pending the outcome of their case. Continue Reading »

The conflict between the United States and Iraq has left a dark cloud over the Middle East in general and on Palestine in particular. The fear among Palestinians regarding the war in Iraq stem from a number of issues: Continue Reading »

The Korean based Magazine Asia Network has chosen Mohammad Rashid as one of the many businessmen from Asia that have been profiled for its special edition entitled “Ugly Businessmen of Asia”. Daoud Kuttab* was asked to write a profile on Mr. Rashid.

In the aftermath of the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords, Palestine witnessed a transition from Israeli occupation to the rule of the Palestinian National Authority.

Even before the Palestinian leadership returned to Palestine, international companies and major contractors made what seemed like a pilgrimage to the Tunis-based offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). These visits were thought to be courtesy calls to the soon to be head of Palestine, Yasser Arafat. In most meetings the businesspersons visiting Arafat would request his blessing to their projects and plans. Invariably the president and his men turned any requests for research to Arafat’s economic advisor Khaled Salam. Continue Reading »

Danny Qumsieh has been working hard this Christmas season to raise money so that Bethlehem’s only local radio station can continue in its tradition of covering the holiday events. As manager of the radio station he was frustrated that he was unable to find commercial sponsors because of the devastating economic situation due to the Israeli reoccupation of the city. So he turned to NGOs and Christian organizations asking if they would agree to financial underwrite the radio’s important work. Just when he felt confident that the station will be able to go ahead with the coverage, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Israeli soldiers decided on December 23 to take over the building housing the station. The staff of the radio station and the entire building was evacuated and the station had to go off the air. Continue Reading »

What began as a Jordanian temporary procedure aimed at averting the possibility of mass Palestinian, is turning into an uncontrollable policy that is souring Jordanian-Palestinian relations. For nearly a year now Jordan has imposed tight measures on the crossing of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip into Jordan. The King Hussein Bridge on the river Jordan is for most Palestinian the only available passage point out of Palestine. Continue Reading »

Palestinians might differ considerably over what is the best way to resist the Israeli occupation. Some might argue for nonviolent resistance while others insist that only violent resistance will eventually lead to the exit of the occupational forces. Some Palestinians argue that anti Israeli attacks must be limited to the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip while others say that since Palestinian civilians are not immune from Israeli attacks, Israeli civilians can’t expect any different treatment. Continue Reading »