All that is needed at this time is public Arab support
For all the theatrics and histrionics within the Arab League’s Cairo headquarters, Arab governments are unlikely to have any influence on Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. Like all regional organizations, the League of Arab States is inefficient as a collective body, and individual countries such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt wield more power than the 22-member league. In […]
An Indirect Route to a Palestinian State?
RAMALLAH – Palestinians and Israelis have different and possibly contradictory expectations from the indirect negotiations that the United States has pushed both sides into beginning. Israel was among the first parties to welcome the Arab League’s reluctant decision to back Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s call for Arabs to give their blessing to the talks. It […]
Americans have themselves to blame for the Biden slap in the face
The embarrassment the US vice president faced this week when, during his visit to Israel, the creation of a new settlement was announced should not have surprised him. The list of Israeli slaps in the face of US officials is endless. The situation has become such that many believe calls for a freeze of settlement […]
The People of Gaza and a Reporter: Victims of the NY Times’ Stubbornness
The people of Gaza appear to have been the recent victims of the arrogance (or what some believe to be the bias) of the NY Times. The stubbornness of Bill Keller, the executive editor of the NY Times, in refusing to relocate his Jerusalem reporter has caused a considerable drop in the paper’s coverage of […]
Israel heritage, Jewish heritage or both?
The most worrisome aspect of the decision by the Israeli government to recognize various West Bank-based sites as part of Israel’s heritage is the conflation of the state of Israel and the Jewish religion. Many Arab and international media outlets mistakenly referred to the Israeli Cabinet’s decision as a declaration to consider the Ibrahimi Mosque […]
Are serious negotiations around the corner or is this a mirage?
By Daoud Kuttab Palestinians and many others around the world are trying to figure out whether the current US-backed push to restart Mideast talks will lead to serious negotiations or will it be just another act that leads nowhere. The US peace envoy George Mitchell has been making the rounds trying to restart Palestinian-Israeli talks. […]
Fatehgate – between fact and fiction
By Daoud Kuttab Corruption has always been the Achilles heel of the Palestinian leadership. At the height of PLO’s popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, the relationship between revolution and money was the movement’s major weakness. Well-respected Palestinian artist Kamal Boulatta best reflected this dichotomy in his painting mixing the words thawra (revolution) and tharwa […]
Filippo Grandi, a new commissioner intent on defending the rights and living conditions of Palestinian refugees
Filippo Grandi was clearly prepared for his new mission. Defending and preserving the rights and interests of Palestinian refugees. As deputy commissioner, the Italian born Grandi was very much versed in the workings of the UN, familiar with his international and local staffs, understood the politics and politicians of the Middle East and knew exactly […]
Jordanians to enjoy Kids News soon
Jordanian children will be able to hear and see televised news geared to them in the near future. A memorandum of understanding to introduce the internationally known Kids News program to Jordanian kids was signed Saturday at the Dead Seas between the Dutch based Free Voice by Bart Dijkstra with Jordan’s Community Media Network by […]
Palestinian Christian priests call for non-violent resistance
By Daoud Kuttab The voice of Father Jamal Khader coming over the waves of Radio Mawwal in Bethlehem was soothing and confident. A caller asked him to explain the words of Jesus, “to love your enemyâ€, in light of the occupation and walls built by Israel and the injustice against Palestinians. Father Khader, who was […]