David Landau has been writing for Ha’aretz for some time. His path and mine have often crossed, usually when we are on different ends of a debate regarding the Middle East. More often than not, we agreed more than we disagreed. Until Tuesday.

The prestigious US radio program “All things Considered” on National Public Radio invited David and I for a discussion on the current situation, especially after Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza Tuesday morning. Continue Reading »

Is there a law for war? This was the way I have interrupted the various comments that friends of mine made this week.

It started at around noon on Monday. Arthur and Anderson auditors who have been working at our office get a call from their office saying that all the Ramallah staff have been told to go home. Some of our own staff get calls from friends with similar sentiment. The rumor is that the Israelis are planning to shell Ramallah indiscriminately. Two Israeli soldiers were killed near Betunia and one colleague rushes in saying that the Israelis are about to reoccupy Ramallah. Continue Reading »

Mrs. Asfour, a respected Palestinian woman in her late fifties had a problem the other day getting to her home in the Jerusalem district of Dahiat Al Barid. Coming from Jordan, where she had visited her daughter and the new born granddaughter, she had no idea that in the week she was absent her house would no longer be accessible. Having a number of suitcases with her, she had to figure out how to get them to her house, as the Israelis had put up cement blocks in order to stop Palestinians from circumventing the checkpoint. Continue Reading »

The new Israeli government wants to create international precedent by its demands that Palestinians unilaterally end what it calls violence and terrorism as a condition for the renewal of the Israeli –Palestinian negotiations. The Israeli government’s request seems oblivious to its own violence and that of its citizens as well as the fact that people under military rule have an internationally- sanctioned right to resist occupation. Peoples around the world have acted to rid themselves of foreign military rule, and have never been known to stop their resistance as a condition to begin talks. Continue Reading »

The new Jordan River Bridge that has been built with Japanese money is impressive in its structure. Towering so high the new bride along with a short stretch of a four-lane highway is scheduled to be completed by March 15th. The contractors seem on time but it is unlikely that any Japanese or Jordanian official will be cutting the ribbon of the new structure any time soon. The bridge built at a level much higher than the existing landscape looks like overkill. The trickle of water that flows underneath clearly give the impression that the major purpose of the bridge is not simply to cross what is left of the waters of the Jordan River but to indicate the Japanese support for the need for heavy usage of people and goods between Palestine in the West of the Jordan River and the Kingdom of Jordan to the East. Continue Reading »

The establishment of what seems like a stable government in Israel should once again place the focus of attention on the best means possible to expedite genuine and lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians.  This government will commit a big mistake if it attempts, as previous governments have in solving its problems using force. That will only lead to more immediate bloodshed and more long-term hatred. What would make life easier for the new rulers in Israel and everyone else is if they can identify nonnegotiable issues and ones that are open for negotiations. Attempts to use the people as hostages to force Palestinian leaders to weaken their positions will not work. What is needed is new thinking.  Here are some pointers that Mr. Sharon and his government need to consider.  Continue Reading »

The title of this article seems to be the talk of town in Palestinian circles this week. After the abandonment of the Americans and the Israelis (and even Clinton) of the Clinton proposals and the elections of right wing Israeli leader Ariel Sharon, many in Palestine are starting to ask out loud what is the Palestinian strategy? To be sure there are many answers, but the new questioning among Palestinians is simply whether any of the set answers to this question are convincing. More precisely is there an effective Palestinian strategy that can produce results. Continue Reading »

Samir Awad is an American Palestinian architectural engineer. He has been working with the Kansas City bases Engineering company for the past five years where he lives with his 85-year old grandmother Huda. Earlier this month and because of a change of jobs he decided to pay his parents in Bethlehem a visit. Last Sunday, a day before he had to start his new job, he headed for Ben Gurion airport to take the KLM flight headed for Kansas City. But his trip was not to take place. He was refused travel by the Israeli security at the airport. His American passport couldn’t help him. He was told Palestinians were banned from travel as a result of the Egged bus incident in Tel Aviv a few days earlier. Continue Reading »

A group of residents of Ramallah and Al Bireh whose homes are adjacent to the Jewish settlement Psagaot seem to have found the third way. Forced to choose between opposition to the Israelis who are daily bombarding their homes with an assortment of guns and shells, or turn against their own people they chose a different route. Continue Reading »

While the rest of the world is trying to figure out what its response to the overwhelming victory of Ariel Sharon, I conducted my own unscientific survey of Palestinian reaction to the results of the Israeli elections. I chose to get the reaction of television broadcasters knowing full well that they more than anyone else have their fingers of the pulse of the Palestinian public.

While predictions varied none went to the level of deep concern and their was no alarmist tone in the expectations of Palestinians. Continue Reading »