Category: Palestinian politics

Ten years ago I had the honor of being the first Palestinian journalist to interview Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, for the leading daily Al Quds. “Mr. Prime Minister,” I asked him, “what is your vision for the future of the Palestinians in 10 or 15 years?” “I believe that the future of the Palestinians…

Jerusalem — In the presidential and parliamentary elections that took place in 1996, I remember clearly my pride in participating in those first-ever Palestinian elections. US president Carter and others were among the many observers who monitored the elections and concluded that these elections were free and fair.

The new Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurei has a daunting challenge ahead of him. He needs to walk between the rain drops of continued Israeli military actions against Palestinians, US ambivalence and lack of real support for the peace process and militant Palestinian groups who want to carry out acts of revenge every time one…

The sickening cycle of violence in the Palestinian Israeli conflict has become so predictable that any observer can estimate the next moves or actions. As sad as this is, understanding this predictability can become the way out of this unnecessary quagmire .

For most teenagers, the world over, the age of sixteen is supposed to be a happy one. This is supposed to be a year of care free fun and enjoyment as they celebrate their sweet pre- adult sixteenths birthday. Reaching 16, for Palestinians, especially those living in East Jerusalem, however, is not much fun. This…

East Jerusalem- The road map for peace in the Middle East is off to a good start now that the Palestinian militant groups have adhered to their self-declared hudna. More than a month of quite from the Palestinian side has been registered since that truce declaration. But for this hudna or truce to take root…

Much has been said of late as to the reason for the internal Palestinian conflict, especially the struggle between Arafat and Abu Mazen. While personality issues should not be discounted from any political struggle, one has to look much deeper in order to understand what lies behind it.

The recent positive changes on the Palestinian-Israeli front promise the beginnings of a political process that will lead, if President Bush means his words, to a viable Palestinian state in 2005. Clearly the region has lately made an important shift, which requires a review of the past two-and-a-half years. We must learn the lessons of…

The Palestinian leadership showed political creativity when they introduced the Arabic term hudna when speaking about the ceasefire agreement that was being worked out with the Islamic and radical Palestinian guerilla movements. By using a term used more than once by the Prophet Muhammad, the Palestinian Authority succeeded in providing the Islamic movements with an…

The struggle in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resembles two sluggers in a never-ending duel. Both parties exhausted and unable to finish off the other, yet both refusing to give up the fight nor accept a draw. The witnesses to this terrible fight have so far refused to get too involved. Other than words of advice between…