By Daoud Kuttab

On Sept. 13, 1993, Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas met on the South Lawn of the White House to sign the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles, or the Oslo Accords. PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin then sealed the agreement with an historic handshake.

The Oslo Accords – the result of secret talks that had been encouraged by the Norwegian government and conducted in the country’s capital – called for a five-year transitional period during which Israeli forces would withdraw from the Gaza Strip and unspecified areas of the West Bank, and the establishment of a Palestinian Authority. Letters of recognition between the PLO and Israel accompanied the agreement. The ultimate aim, though never explicitly stated, was to create a Palestinian state roughly within the 1967 borders. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Discussions about pan-Arab issues these days undoubtedly include the name of the Gulf country Qatar, repeated in various contexts, often negative. Qatar is behind this or that conspiracy, it is a U.S. puppet, an Israeli collaborator, the brain behind this or that problem or conflict.

Wherever there is an issue or a problem in the Arab world that one cannot easily explain, Qatar is often used to explain the unexplainable.

I happen to differ. I am impressed with what this tiny Gulf emirate has done since its ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, took over the reign of power in a bloodless coup while his father was away in June 1995. Since then, Qatar has become a household name in the Arab world and much farther. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The Jordanian Cabinet’s decision to scrap wintertime came at the most difficult time: one day before a long holiday and also one day before the original plan to start wintertime. Furthermore, the rationale for the decision was never fully discussed and defended by those taking it.

For years, Jordanian governments determined the seasonal time changes arbitrarily. Recently, this policy became more structured and institutional. A decision was made declaring the last Friday of March and of October as the day when the new time changes take effect.  Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

After attending a debate about the new Elections Law, the moderator told me that MP Abdullah Ensour wanted to talk to me. Ensour, who in the debate organised by Community Media Network opposed the current Elections Law, told me he had seen me on TV in the US years earlier.

I had appeared with Ted Koppel on ABC’s Nightline special talking about the first Palestinian Intifada and Ensour felt that I had done a good job communicating the Palestinian cause. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Amman, Jordan

At an international press-freedom event in Jordan 12 years ago, I was impressed with government officials’ words about the new king’s desire to promote the Internet as a means of free communication. I decided to set up an Internet radio station.

AmmanNet.net started as an electronic media experiment. It was created with support from the Open Society Institute and was sponsored in its first year by UNESCO and the city of Amman. Initially our online broadcasts were barely followed in Jordan. By collaborating with a Palestinian FM radio station, we were able to bypass government restrictions on radio broadcasts; the Palestinian station rebroadcast our signal into Jordanian air space, using our Internet Webcast. Since 2003, Jordan has allowed independent radio stations, but the Internet has continued to be a lifeline for freedom of expression. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Election fever has hit most Palestinian cities. However, the elections planed for October 20^th will only be municipal ones, and only in most West Bank cities (Jerusalemites are not allowed to participate) and will witness the boycott of the Islamic movement.

The last time Palestine witnessed elections was in 2006 when pro Hamas candidates swept the parliamentary poll. A year earlier pro Hamas lists won many West Bank and Gaza municipal elections. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

This week, family and friends crossed international borders and military checkpoints and overcame the usual political bureaucracies to attend my daughter’s two weddings. Why two weddings? Let me explain.

Like me, my daughter Tamara is a Jerusalemite. The bridegroom, Alaa, lives in the Bethlehem-area town of Beit Jala. It takes minutes to move between these adjacent towns, but they are kilometres away because of the 45-year-old political and military situation caused by Israel’s occupation of Arab lands. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The Palestinian leadership seems to be on the verge of change. It is very likely that this will be the last year that Palestine will be led by the PLO’s Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’ Khaled Meshaal.

Abbas announced over a year ago that he does not plan to run for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority once such elections take place. All efforts to organize national reconciliation with Hamas and to resolve the West Bank-Gaza dispute through elections have failed.Two weeks ago, in a heated meeting of the Palestinian leadership, Abbas suggested West-Bank-only presidential elections so that he can be relieved of his position in an orderly manner. His suggestion for November elections was turned down and, according to a Gulf-based publication, he asked the Palestinian leadership to nominate someone to replace him within 10 days of his return from the New York trip. The Forward published a similar statement. Jewish leaders who met Abbas were told by the Palestinian leader that he expects to exit the political scene within a few months. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Among the most important rights achieved by Arab demonstrators in the past two years are the freedoms of assembly and of expression.

Millions of Arabs gathered in squares and circles demanding an end to autocratic rules and a share in the political decision-making processes in their countries.

Along with the freedom of assembly, the Arab Spring brought about increased freedom of expression. Young people successfully used social media to communicate, organize and express themselves. Traditional print media, radio and television (especially satellite stations) also witnessed marked freedom and, more importantly, a retraction (although not an end) of government interference. Continue Reading »