Category: Articles

By Daoud Kuttab The upcoming visit by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Israel and Palestine in November has produced a positive reaction from Palestinian officials. While the visit planned for Nov. 10 has been billed as an anniversary celebration of the 25 years since Russia restored its ties with Israel, the Palestinian ambassador in Moscow…

By Daoud Kuttab A statement issued by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has angered Palestinian officials and activists. Bokova made the statement Oct. 14, the same day Israel decided to suspend its relations with UNESCO due to the organization’s resolution on Israeli violations in Jerusalem that Israel feels ignored Jewish connections to Al-Haram al-Sharif compound. Bokova…

          By Daoud Kuttab The recent resolution that was approved by the world’s cultural body about the old city of Jerusalem, Al Haram Al Sharif and the Ibrahimi Mosque had nothing to do with Jews or Jewish history. A close reading of the resolutions passed by UNESCO shows that they are…

By Daoud Kuttab A senior adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas visited a local vegetable store in Ramallah on Oct. 2. The store owner and the adviser talked about Abbas’ having attended the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sept. 30. When the owner of the vegetable store conveyed his criticism, the adviser related…

By Daoud Kuttab The United States is not the only place that will be witnessing a leadership change. Elections for top institutions and the overall leadership will be taking place within the two leading Palestinian political movements. Fateh is expected to hold its seventh congress this winter and Hamas is expected to choose its political…

By Daoud Kuttab Shimon Peres will be remembered mostly for the same reason the assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is: both were architects of the Oslo Peace Accords and were awarded, along with Yasser Arafat, the Nobel Peace Prize for this agreement. Both Rabin and Peres were hardened Israeli Zionists committed to the need…

By Daoud Kuttab The atmosphere at the Palestinian ministry was as cold as ice. News had come of the condolence statement issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the death of former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres. The press was asking for comments, but no one at the ministry wanted to talk to the press. A…

By Daoud Kuttab The world’s leading soccer association is under pressure by the world’s leading human rights organization to live up to its own rules and ethical guidelines. A well-researched study, which included aerial photos, by Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Sept. 25 for six clubs of the Israeli Football Association (IFA) to stop…