I have spent the past two weeks in a private visit to the U.S. During this visit I tried to observe what the average Americans notices regarding the Middle East and have come up with the conclusion that very little attention is paid to the region. Two issues did come up in the media during my short visit.

The car bombing carried out in the north of Israel and the continued U.S. attempts to prepare the condition for a war against Iraq. Continue Reading »

I am a Jerusalemite and I love the city. But I am sick and tired of all the people who pretend to be interested in the city by their lip service but not by their action.

I say this because it seems that we are again in the annual Jerusalem season. The routine has become boring. The American congress for election’s related reasons pass some sort of Jerusalem resolution in congress aimed at pleasing the pro Israel lobby. The White House makes some sort of shy remark about not changing traditional US policies about Jerusalem. The Arab countries rise up as one man in protest of the US congressional resolution and two weeks later everyone forgets Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

Ever since I started working as a journalist, I have been a member of the Palestinian Journalist’s Union. For us in Palestine during the early 1980s when I began my journalism career, the idea of professional unions was considered part of the struggle. It was considered by many as part of the nation building efforts and a clear act of protest against the Israeli occupation, which was denying Palestinians the basic right to self-determination. Continue Reading »

The time was almost midnight on September 20th when a number of the satellite stations interrupted their regular programming to announce that Israeli soldiers had warned Palestinians living near Arafat’s headquarters that the building would be blown up in 15 minutes if those inside it didn’t come out. Continue Reading »

Perhaps one should not give too much weight to the off-the-cuff remarks made by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat during his speech to the Palestinian Legislative Council, but its importance should not be overlooked either.

When he came to the paragraph about the independence of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, Arafat diverted from the prepared text. He told the legislature assembled in his bunker words to the effect that they would do him a favor to relieve him of this awesome responsibility if they are not happy with the way he has been handling his executive powers. Continue Reading »

An argument has been raging for some time as to which party in the Middle East conflict is more interested in peace and quiet. Israel claims that it wants peace and stability, that it made what it calls a generous offer for peace and that all they got in return was suicide attacks.

Palestinians insist that they want peace and that the illegal Israeli occupation and exclusive Jewish settlement activity in Palestinian lands is the problem. As to the generous offer, they state that returning occupied lands is not charity but an internationally mandated right and that just like the US insisted on all of Kuwaiti territory be returned to its owners, so Palestinians demand that all of the occupied West Bank and Gaza be returned. Continue Reading »

My 14-year old son, Bishara, and his cousin ran into trouble this week. They were loitering in Bethlehem’s Manger Square during the few hours of the lifting of the curfew when they were confronted by much older teens who wanted to shake them down for money. The incident ended peacefully, but the fact that it took place in the center of Bethlehem in the middle of the day is telling of a much bigger problem that is taking place in the Palestinian territories. Continue Reading »

Nothing is causing a perpetuation of the current Palestinian -Israeli violence more than the existence and growth of illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In June 1967 Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza strip (as well as the Golan and Sinai) saying at that time that they would relinquish these areas in return for peace. This Israeli claim has now been proven to be a public relations ploy. Palestinians and Arabs (see the latest Arab League Commitment) have continuously offered peace for land but Israel has refused to give up Palestinian territories. Continue Reading »

Palestinians are in a dilemma. We are not sure whom to trust, whom not to trust, what to do or not to do to end the human tragedy in which we find ourselves. To be sure, there are many who pretend to know what is best for us and for our future, but history shows that much of this external advice is self-serving rather than beneficial to Palestinians. Continue Reading »

The ninety minutes I spent in the Jordan National Bank in Bethlehem said it all. I had gone to Bethlehem when I learned that curfew was to be temporarily lifted. People were loitering outside the branch shortly 9 am but the staff, which arrived at the same time, needed time to prepare before allowing the customers to come in. Lines were much longer, I was told when the Israeli incursions and curfews began, most people had withdrawn whatever money they thought they would need. Now customers had little money left and those waiting in line were using the bank for check cashing transactions and paying bills and taxes. Continue Reading »