Daoud Kuttab

Jerusalem Post – June 25, 2007

One of the paradoxes of the internal conflict in  Palestine is that Palestinians are fighting each other without any regard to the fact that the Israeli occupation continues unabated. There are plenty of reasons to explain why the occupation has continued for decades.

Palestinians have missed opportunities because they failed to measure accurately their own negotiating powers in comparison to the Israelis. The Arab states gave plenty of lip service to the Palestinian cause, and the international community passed UN resolutions which were never implemented. Continue Reading »

Recent violence in the Palestinian territories means that the goal of a truly independent Palestinian state has became more remote than at any time since the second intifada.

Since 1967, and before, the aspirations of Palestinians to liberty and independence have repeatedly hit one snag after another. There is plenty of room to place the blame on Palestinians themselves, Arabs, and the international community. Palestinians have failed to measure accurately their own powers in comparison to the Israelis. The Arab states gave plenty of lip service to the Palestinian cause and the international community spent more on weapons to the region rather than efforts to encourage all sides to a peaceful resolution. Continue Reading »

Following is the full version of the article (parts of which were edited in the Jordan Times version) 

The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition

The end of censorship? Daoud Kuttab,

THE JERUSALEM POST Jun. 4, 2007

Quietly and without any fanfare, the decades-old censorship laws on the books in Jordan were scrapped earlier this month. The official gazette published an amendment to the regulation which ends the work of the Continue Reading »

The following article appeared in many publications as part of project syndicate. I am enclosing below its publication in the Guardian and I have added the comments made on their web site. It is interesting reading.

Civility or weakness?
Daoud Kuttab

With Gaza poised on the brink of civil war, pity poor Mahmoud Abbas, who took over as president of the Palestinian Authority two and a half years ago, after the death of Yasser Arafat. An academic by profession, Abbas has tried mightily to lead the Palestinian people with civility, adherence to democratic principles, and public disdain for violence.

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The following was written before the decision by President Abbas to dissolve the Haniyeh government and declare Emergency.

JORDAN TIMES  – Failure at the top

By Daoud Kuttab

The test of leadership is usually at times of pressure and turmoil. So far, the Palestinian leadership has been failing miserably. It is easy to put blame in other places. Certainly the continuation of occupation for 40 years is to blame. The failure of the Oslo process can’t be discounted and the unjust siege on Palestine, especially on Gaza, certainly contributed to the turmoil. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Both my parents were away from home on the eve of the June 1967 war and I was home alone with my younger siblings. At the time we were living near in a rented house next to Rachel’s Tomb just outside Bethlehem. Jordanian soldiers were posted near our home and I remember how my older brother Jonathan came running and screaming as I was sitting leisurely in the balcony of our home. Go inside, don’t you hear the sirens, I had thought they were test sirens. Once we went he suggested that we go downstairs where it would be safer, we took a board game and a transistor radio which was broadcasting the ‘heroic’ news from Sawt al Arab that the Egyptians were bringing downs tens of Israeli planes. Continue Reading »

Under more than one kind of fire

Daoud Kuttab

Arab journalists, more than any other journalists around the world, need security. They need physical security and economic security as well as the security of strong laws and regulations. Being an independent journalist in the Arab world is not a very safe profession. If you are working in the two most media-productive areas in the Arab world (Iraq and Palestine) you are constantly in very direct danger. If you are a photographer or TV cameraperson the level of danger is much higher. Continue Reading »

Who censures the censors?

Daoud Kuttab

Quietly and without any fanfare, the decades-long pre-censorship laws on books in Jordan were scrapped earlier this month. The official gazette published an amendment to the regulation which ends the work of the government censors. Marwan Qteishat, head of the Press and Publications Department, said in media reports that Jordan is now like most other countries in which publishers are allowed to publish whatever they wish without pre-censorship. Continue Reading »

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By Daoud Kuttab

When Henry Kissinger coined the term “constructive ambiguity” during his attempts to negotiate Arab-Israeli peace, he couldn’t have expected that one day Palestinians would use it in their own peace initiative. The ambiguity in the agenda of the new Palestinian “unity government” depends on whether one sees the cup as half full or half empty. If Israel and the United States want to move forward on the peace process, the cup is half full. But if there is no real will to pay the price for peace, the cup is half empty. Continue Reading »