Palestine, media, Jordan, community radio, online journalism
By Daoud Kuttab Israeli security officials have been unable to clearly identify what is happening in the occupied state of Palestine, as the lack of a credible peace process leaves a big vacuum. Early in January, Colonel Yaniv Alaluf told soldiers the third Intifada has already begun. His statement, which was reproduced in Arab and Israeli…
By Daoud Kuttab One of the most important decisions following the UN vote on Palestine was made in the temporary Palestinian capital of Ramallah. Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on Jan. 6, 2013, calling for the issuance of new passports, driver’s licenses, stamps and other national identification documents all under the title of the State…
By Daoud Kuttab Although it is artificial, the end of a year is usually a good time to take stock and to think ahead. Some Palestinians evaluating where they are and assessing their future are cautiously optimistic. Others are downright pessimistic. Like any good debater, one can argue both sides. The reality on the…
By Daoud Kuttab The long-heralded Palestinian reconciliation is going on for another year despite wishes to the opposite earlier this year. Thus 2012 began with lots of promises that produced the Doha declaration on Feb. 6  between Hamas’ Khaled Mashal and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also the leader of Fatah. The idea behind…
By Daoud Kuttab The decision by the vast majority of UN members to recognize Palestine as an “observer state†has paved the way for more creative solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. One of the less-talked-about advantages of the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution recognizing Palestine on the 1967 borders is that it permanently ended…
By Daoud Kuttab Two crucial problems are taking place simultaneously in the occupied West Bank this week. Palestinian-Israeli security cooperation is quickly worsening, and the economic situation is reaching a point of real danger. All together this dangerous combination can easily result in major breakout of violence. Teachers went on nationwide general strike [Dec….
By Daoud Kuttab In most countries electricity generation and distribution is a government regulated monopoly. It’s no different in Jerusalem. Electricity concessions for Jerusalem was granted  to Greek national Yorbides Mifrotes in 1914 when it was under Turkish rule. After international litigation the concession was passed on to the Jerusalem Electric Co. in 1926….
By Daoud Kuttab Like most journalists, Mohammad Abu Arqoub loves to chat with taxi drivers to gauge the public mood. In the trip from the center of town to his house in the Raffidya neighborhood, Arqoub, who is also a lecturer at the Al Quds University in Ramallah, wanted to know what people in…
By Daoud Kuttab When the leadership of the Fatah movement nominated little known Bethlehem University English literature Professor Vera Baboun to run for mayor of the city, few expected her to win. She ran against well-known male candidates as well as individuals supported by Islamists and left-wing Palestinians. But she surprised all on Oct….
By Daoud Kuttab When Palestinian student activists in Kuwait decided that they needed to take matters into their own hands to liberate Palestine, they chose Lebanon as the country that they wanted to launch the first armed attack against the “Zionists†on the first day of 1965. Those planning for and supporting the attack…