Category: Palestinian politics

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…

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…

  By Daoud Kuttab The death of senior Palestinian official Ziad Abu Ein, while he attempted to plant olive trees in Palestinian territory, is sure to reignite calls for a major discussion of Palestinian resistance tactics and strategies. Palestinian nonviolent efforts have been going on for years without producing concrete results. At a time when…

By Daoud Kuttab Award-winning documentary “The Wanted 18” reveals the nonviolent ambitions of Palestinian activists in the first intifada who wanted to challenge Israel’s occupation through means of self-sufficiency and tax evasion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FApW9ACWyJE

By Daoud Kuttab The sight was unusual and the purpose was even more bizarre. A large contingent of the Palestinian police force surrounded the office of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), which has not been in session for years. Palestinian police showed up in the afternoon of Dec. 2 and have been stationed outside all its entrances…

By Daoud Kuttab Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ own people often have some unflattering words for him. He has been called a “traitor” and a “quisling,” accused of selling out Palestine in peace negotiations. While Israelis also attack him as a “diplomatic terrorist” and “Arafat in a suit,” one important Israeli sector has been praising him….

By Daoud Kuttab Politicians holding down the floodgates against a public display of support for the state of Palestine were embarrassed in recent weeks. As soon as these political gatekeepers allowed their rank and file to express their positions, tremendous backing came for Palestine and its people. This happened in the British House of Commons,…

By Daoud Kuttab In 1977, the UN General Assembly declared November 29 the international day for solidarity with Palestine. Last year, the UN secretary general added to this, declaring 2014 the international year for solidarity with the Palestinian people.. As we observe one day and almost the end of the year, the two dates appear…

By Daoud Kuttab When former Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and President Mahmoud Abbas, as representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), held secret talks with members of Israel’s Labor Party in 1993, they were dealing with a secular political party that headed a coalition also including non-Zionist religious parties. When Yasser Arafat, as chairman of the…

By Daoud Kuttab For the 23rd time since his arrest in 2002, Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti was transferred to an isolated cell in the Israeli Hadarim prison. The Israeli press said that the punishment was due to a letter smuggled out of prison by the Palestinian leader and published in the largest Palestinian newspaper. In…