By Daoud Kuttab

Social media activists have filled cyberspace with comments and arguments,criticising or justifying the presence of this or that leader at the gathering held in Paris in support of the people of France after the brutal killing, in two separate attacks on journalists, cartoonists, policemen and everyday shoppers in a Jewish supermarket.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was attacked for going to Paris while avoiding Gaza. Arab leaders were criticized for attending the French demonstration while not working to protect freedom of expression in their countries.

Arab leaders have many considerations, of course, when they make decisions such as last week’s. When a superpower like France calls for worldwide support, it is incumbent on world leaders to show solidarity by participating.

King Abdullah’s and Queen Rania’s presence in France sent multiple messages. Not only where they present to show public support for the grieving French, but also as a demonstration of moderate Islam. The direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad and the sponsor of the Amman Message of religious dialogue had to make his presence known at such event.

The reaction from the French Muslim community welcoming the presence of the King and Queen shows that it was a positive move. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo Jan. 15 approved a Palestinian request to return to the UN Security Council to seek an end to the Israeli occupation. The ministers did not set a date for the next UN campaign, leaving the decision to a committee made up of Jordan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Egypt, Morocco and Palestine. Addressing the foreign ministers, President Mahmoud Abbas asked Arabs to financially support the Palestinian government in light of Israel’s decision to withhold tax revenue. Abbas said that the Palestinians had notified the United States of their intention to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). “Had America told Israel to stop settlements, we wouldn’t have gone,” he added.

After participating in the Paris solidarity rally, Abbas told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Palestinians will seek another vote at the UN Security Council. And at a Jan. 12 press conference, he said, “Nothing will ever deter us from continuing our march toward obtaining the rights, freedom and independence of our people.”

On paper, the chances of a Palestinian statehood resolution receiving the nine positive votes needed have been greatly increased with the changes at the turn of the year. Australia, which voted against the resolution, has been replaced by New Zealand, and majority-Muslim Malaysia has replaced South Korea, which abstained. Sources in the Palestinian and Jordanian missions in New York are optimistic. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The participation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in France’s mega unity demonstration in Paris on Jan. 11 was apparently not of his own making.

Much of this background was unknown to most Palestinians, who were divided upon seeing their president march in Paris alongside world leaders, including Netanyahu. Opposition to Abbas’ Paris visit arose initially from hard-line Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, who called it “hypocrisy and political acrobatics.”

Social media was full of posts from individuals comparing Abbas’ Paris trip to his “non-visit” to Gaza since the end of the 2014 Israeli war, which resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 Palestinians, including 17 journalists. This sentiment was echoed by Fadi Elsalameen, adjunct senior fellow at the American Security Project and a Palestinian activist in the United States. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Elsalameen echoed many in stating, “I wish he [Abbas] showed the same support for his people locally. He banned solidarity demonstrations with Gaza and has no shame in showing up in Paris.” Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Very few people know that in Islam there are two kinds of jihad. The smaller Jihad is the more known one namely the one which reflects the military a struggle. But the greater Jihad which is less known is the internal Jihad- or Struggle.

Few people also know that the Arabic word Jihad is used throughout the Christian Bible as well.  II Timothy y 4:7 states I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. The Arabic verse uses  the term fight  for the word Jihad.

So whether it is the struggle or the fight for a better world, the militaristic Jihad is certainly not a monopoly to Islamists.

How does this affect the current war on Islamic extremism that most tangible form has been the Islamic State militias who have controlled large segments of land and people in northern Iraq and eastern Syria.

France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said that his country is now at war with radical Islam. “It is a war afraternity, freedom, solidarity,” Mr. Valls said during a speech in Évry, south of Paris.

World leaders have correctly pointed out that the fight radical Islam including the current coalition against against DAESH (the Arabic acronym of ISIS) must be both a military and an ideological one. We have heard and seen a lot of the former but very little has been done to tackle the ideologies behind this extreme group. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Both the content and the body language reflected a profound Israeli irritation. “We will not allow IDF soldiers and commanders to be hauled before the International Criminal Court [ICC] in The Hague,” said an angry Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Jan. 4.

The response of the Israeli prime minister was accompanied by threats and punitive actions against Palestinians, including warnings that Israel would also prosecute Palestinians for war crimes and that the monthly customs taxes collected on behalf of Palestinians would not be turned over (the December 2014 transfer is about $127 million). For once, it seems that Palestinians got under Netanyahu’s skin.

The Palestinian leadership, of course, is not interested in the emotional state of Netanyahu or the Israelis, and the refusal to turn over Palestinian monies — called another war crime by chief negotiator Saeb Erekat — will certainly not sway Palestinians from their game plan.

This is not the first time that the Israelis have frozen the transfer of Palestinian taxes only to rescind their decision for fear that cutting off Palestinian funds could result in the collapse of the Palestinian government.

But the tit-for-tat that is taking place on the diplomatic and political scene is aimed at changing the rules of the game. For the first time in many years, the Palestinians appear to be executing a well-designed plan in which every action is calculated and reactions by the international community and Israel are factored into the calculations and tend to trigger further action. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

There is an Arab saying about depriving people of options. It says: “Don’t break a full loaf of bread and don’t eat from a broken loaf but feel free to eat as much as you want.”

This is the international community’s response to Palestinian efforts to end the unjust 47-year-old Israeli occupation.

When Palestinians use armed resistance, which is legal by international law, they are called terrorists and asked to refrain from acts that endanger the lives of Israelis whose offensive actions against the people of Gaza are “legitimate” defense.

When Palestinians try popular national resistance, their actions are called provocative and their leaders are oppressed.

Israel deported (non-violent leader Mubarak Awad) and possibly caused the death of minister Ziad Abu Ein by using excessive force against demonstrators.

Palestinians tried negotiations despite a statement by the former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir that Israel will drag talks for 10 years without results. The talks have dragged for 20 years without results.

An attempt to use the Security Council route was opened and then quickly shut. The attempt to put an end date to the occupation was not acceptable by Western countries despite the overwhelming support of their populations.

France tried to water down the Palestinian version of proposal without providing assurances that the US will indeed support it. And in the end, the US bullied Nigeriato abstain from voting, and therefore did not even need to use its threats to veto the said resolution. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

One of the most exasperating problems facing Palestinian efforts to end the Israeli occupation has been conveying to the world the daily suffering that they endure under it. The difficulty of the effort continues, as the Palestinians struggle to find an effective strategy internally or through the world’s leading forum, the UN Security Council, to lift the occupation.

To bring this issue to light, there is a need to look at the micro picture, not just the big picture. A painstaking observance of daily events in the occupied territories gives a contextual picture of why ending the occupation is the No. 1 priority of Palestinians. Here is a list of news items from Dec. 28 as reported by the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA:

• Three injured as Israeli soldiers suppress peaceful protest in Beit Hanoun, north Gaza

• Israeli soldiers raid Hebron school in search of two students

• Israeli settler runs over 8-year-old near Hebron

• Israeli bulldozers raze wheat crops near Nablus

Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

There is an Arab saying about taking away options to people. It says’ don’t break a full loaf of bread and don’t eat from a broken loaf but feel free to eat as much as you want.’

This is the international community’s response to Palestinian efforts to end an unjust 47 year old Israeli occupation. When Palestinians use armed resistance which is legal by international law, they are called ‘terrorists’ and asked to refrain from acts that endanger the lives of Israelis whose offensive actions against the people of Gaza are legitimate self defense.

When Palestinians try popular national resistance, their actions are called  provocative and their leaders are oppressed. Israel deported (nonviolent leader Mubarak Awad) and caused the death of Minister Ziad Abu Ein as it uses excessive force against demonstrators.

Palestinians tried negotiations despite a statement by the former Israeli Prime Minister Yitshaq Shamir that Israel will drag that talks for 10 years without results. The talks have dragged 20 years without results.

An attempt to use the Security Council route was opened and then quickly shut down. An attempt to put an end date to the occupation was not acceptable by western countries despite the support of their public in overwhelming numbers. France tried to water down the Palestinian version without providing assurances that the US will indeed support it. And in the end the US bullied Nigeria to abstain in the vote and therefore didn’t even need to use its threats to veto the said resolution. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

I am in principle opposed to the capital punishment. I am even more opposed to Jordan carrying out this inhuman punishment for a number of reasons.

One of the main reasons people are opposed to capital punishment is the fact that the chance of miscarriage of justice is high.

Throughout history, there are abundant cases of individuals who were executed, only to be proved innocent later.

Through DNA testing, one could see that even some of the world’s most careful judiciaries made mistakes that led to this irreversible punishment.

In Jordan, the judiciary is well respected by the public, but it could still be mistaken. In fact, weeks ago, a scandal led to the early retirement of five senior judges. The fact that judges were part of the scandal points to the potential of a grave miscarriage of justice.

A one percent chance that a wrong judgement can end someone’s life should be reason enough to refrain from carrying out this cruel punishment.

Perhaps the biggest problem I have with the capital punishment, especially in a region like Jordan, is the mistaken understanding that it will work as a deterrent and lower crime rates. There is no scientific proof that this is the case.

Studies show that motives for crime are many and those who carry out acts that result in a capital punishment verdict are bound to continue to act in the same manner, regardless of the penalty. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Time is one of the most crucial elements of effective diplomacy.

A diplomatic act can have disastrous consequences if executed at the wrong time, but can be successful if the timing is correct.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Malki was quoted Tuesday as saying Palestinians are willing to postpone submitting a resolution to the UN Security Council Wednesday for a few days, though no later than the end of the month.

The resolution is to be submitted by the Arab state currently holding a seat at the Security Council, Jordan. It will call for a time a two-year limit within which the 1967 Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands will end.

The Palestinian tactic is to combine Jordan’s presence at the Security Council in 2014 with the changes expected in the council in 2015.

The chances of a resolution for Palestinian statehood gaining nine positive votes in 2015 are better because a number of new countries that will become members recognised Palestine or had their parliaments (such as Spain) recognize the state of Palestine.

The internal workings of the UN allow for a draft resolution to be submitted and discussed at the council, but the text to be voted on is the one that will be submitted in blue.

Gaining nine votes will force reluctant permanent members like the US to take a decisive decision.

In the past, a US veto was almost automatic. But recently, Israeli officials stated that they are worried that the veto is not a sure thing.

Not only are Washington and Tel Aviv at loggerheads on a variety of issues, but the US is careful not to cause damage to its current anti-Islamic State Arab coalition by voting against a resolution on Palestine. Continue Reading »