Category: Articles

By Daoud Kuttab Israel’s continued punishment for the people of Jerusalem will do little to de-escalate the tensions, but will certainly contribute to widening them. Isolating neighborhoods and demolishing Palestinian homes is considered a collective punishment and a violation to the IV Geneva Conventions. What Israel needs to do immediately is to empower Palestinians in…

By Daoud Kuttab The question asked by political leaders and pundits is how to end the current wave of violence in Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied territories. As in any conflict resolution effort, one needs to look at the root of the problem that caused this wave of anger that cause people to…

By Daoud Kuttab Despite the sense of pride Palestinians have been expressing as they break the fear barrier and stump one of the world’s most powerful armies, Jerusalem’s intifada is taking its toll on the Palestinians of the holy city. The trigger-happy Israeli soldiers, settlers and citizens encouraged by their government to carry weapons have…

By Daoud Kuttab As Israel and its main ally the US are denouncing the “terrorist” acts against Israelis, very little is being said about what Palestinians describe as summary executions of individuals who do not pose a life-threatening danger. It is unclear why Israel has yet to begin an investigation into the large number of…

By Daoud Kuttab Every revolution seems to have perfected or made particular use of a technological advancement. The current series of protests begun by Palestinian activists Sept. 13 is no exception. Social media via smartphone appears to be the flavor of the month in modes of communication, due to the ease it offers for instantly uploading video. Danny Qumsieh, owner of the radio station Mawwal…

By Daoud Kuttab Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called for “strengthening and increasing the intifada” on Oct. 9, saying that “Gaza was ready for confrontation.” The surge in violence, which began last month in Jerusalem, spread in the past week to the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. On Oct. 9, Israel restricted access to the…

By Daoud Kuttab The ultimate direction of the current violent escalation in Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank is a mystery. Is it the long-anticipated third intifada? Or is it merely a short-term spike in the escalation of violence? One thing seems clear: There is no way of knowing or predicting the depth,…

By Daoud Kuttab The escalating violence in Palestine is producing a multitude of commentary and reactions, but few are able to answer simple questions like what is the direction of the tension, what is the end game and what do people expect. There is no doubt that the absence of a national agreed-to Palestinian strategy…

By Daoud Kuttab Two weeks before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, he had warned on Sept. 16 of a “political bomb“ he planned to drop in his speech. Commentators have argued that while Abbas did threaten to end Palestinian adherence to the 1993 Oslo Accord, he didn’t actually detail…

By Daoud Kuttab For the first 27 days of the 2015-16 school year in Israel, some 33,000 Palestinian students stayed at home during a strike demanding equality with Jewish schools, the first such action of its kind. On Sept. 27, the country’s 47 private Christian schools — on strike since Sept. 1, the first day…