Jibril Rajoub confident FIFA will vote on expelling Israel
By Daoud Kuttab The head of the Palestinian Football Federation spoke optimistically of winning the vote that the general assembly of the world soccer association FIFA will hold May 29. Three-fourths of the association’s 209 members are needed to remove a member. “I am 100% sure we will win the vote and remove the Israelis from […]
The story behind Palestine’s canonized nuns
By Daoud Kuttab The Vatican gave Palestine three gifts within the span of a few days. On May 13, it recognized Palestine, thereby making the state of Palestine, rather than the Palestine Liberation Organization, its official diplomatic point of reference. The Vatican also ameliorated years of struggle by Palestinians on May 17 by canonizing two Palestinian nuns who were born and served in the 19th […]
Teamwork is absent
following appeared in the Jordan Times Newspaper By Daoud Kuttab AÂ quick survey of the success of Arabs at the Olympic Games shows an important phenomenon. With the exception of the bronze won by the Saudi equestrian jumping team in the 2012 London games, none of the nearly 100 medals won by Arab countries represents a […]
Palestinian state would solve right of return
By Daoud Kuttab Visualizing Palestine, a Lebanese-based nongovernmental organization, created an interactive map that shows the shrinking Palestinian population in Palestine between 1918 and 2015. The graphic, “Palestine Shrinking, Israel Expanding,â€Â demonstrates in a clear and simple way the catastrophe that has befallen the Palestinians as a result of Zionist immigration to Palestine and their (direct and […]
Remember the Suffering of Palestinians
Following appeared in the Jordan Times newspaper By Daoud Kuttab AMMAN — Sometimes it is difficult to remember the daily suffering of Palestinians living under occupation. The wars and turmoil all around us tend to divert our attention from genuinely terrible issues that might seem mundane when compared to the wars in Syria or Yemen. […]
Israeli court to rule on minister’s deportation case
By Daoud Kuttab For nine years, former Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Khaled Abu Arafeh and elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmad Ottwan, Mohammed Totah and Mohammad Abu Tier have been waiting for a decision from the Israeli Supreme Court.  Shortly after the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, the four Jerusalem residents were banned from entering their city of […]
New Israeli government makes no pretense of peace
By Daoud Kuttab For the first time in 20 years, an Israeli government will be sworn in without a mention or plan of resolving the Palestinian conflict. This is actually a good thing, for it reveals the true nature and position of Israel. Israelis have in the past boasted that when it comes to Palestine, they negotiate the […]
‘Public service broadcasting should not be run by government’
Following appeared in the Jordan Times newspaper By Daoud Kuttab The caller on the phone, a close friend, was frantic. “They are going to destroy us,†she said. After calming her down, my friend who is a senior adviser at a local commercial TV station, said that several of their staff are leaving to work […]
Why the Muslim Brotherhood Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon
By Daoud Kuttab AMMAN — In the end they withdrew their call for a demonstration. The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan wereplanning to celebrate their 70th anniversary on Friday, in spite of the Jordanian government’s public refusal to allow the event to take place. The huge pressure that the government felt shows that the Muslim Brotherhood […]
The switch to digital television faces bumpy road in Palestine
By Daoud Kuttab For most Palestinians, July 17, 2015, means very little. But for those who have long been working toward the migration of all Palestinian TV frequencies from analogue to digital, the date has been etched in stone. Mandated by the International Telecommunications Union and approved by the Arab League, all Arab states agreed in 2006 to turn off the […]