Aug
16
2006
by Daoud Kuttab
Wars are won not only on battlefields, but also in people’s minds. So, while Hezbollah has not decisively won its current war with Israel, by maintaining its ability to fight in the face of the might of the Israeli army, it has captured the imagination of Arabs, restoring lost pride in the same way as the Egyptian Army’s crossing of the Suez Canal in the war of 1973 did. Restored pride was central to Anwar Sadat’s eventual decision to go to Jerusalem and regain the entire Sinai Peninsula for Egypt. Continue Reading »
Aug
11
2006
Daoud Kuttab
Whenever a war breaks out anywhere in the world, you often hear some people say things like, “there are no rules governing warfare. This, of course, is incorrect. There are definitely laws applicable to war, the same as there are laws for times of peace. In fact what is now referred to as international humanitarian law has developed in the past years to include all international laws, conventions and charters dealing specifically with conduct during wartime. Naturally when you define what is allowed and what is not allowed in times of war, you have no choice but to also deal with war crimes. On the eve of the US-led war on Iraq, I helped put online (www.crimesofwar.org) a series of articles in Arabic designed to help journalists and the public recognise the difference between acts of war and crimes of war.
Writing on this website after the outbreak on the war on Lebanon, Anthony Dworkin, director of the International Crimes of War Project, lists several issues that must be taken into consideration when assessing whether a war crime has been committed. “First, it is forbidden to direct an attack against civilians who are not taking an active part in hostilities. Second, it is forbidden to attack civilian objects unless they make an effective contribution to your enemy’s military operations. Thirdly, it is against the law to launch indiscriminate attacks — attacks that cannot be directed at a specific military target. Attacks are also considered indiscriminate if they violate the principle of proportionality.
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Aug
03
2006
The following appeared in the New York Times TimesSelect section under the heading in the Line of Fire
August 2, 2006, 9:31 pm
By Daoud Kuttab, Ramallah, West Bank
For about three hours on Tuesday, I was really concerned. My sister Grace and her four children were traveling from Jordan to see relatives in the West Bank using the northern Jordan-Israel crossing point. The source of my concern was a news item I saw on TV saying that a Hezbollah rocket had fallen on Bisan in northern Israel. Bisan, literally on the other side of the border crossing that the family was about to reach, is now called Beit Shean and is 100 percent inhabited by Israelis. I was debating whether to ask them to turn back or or let them take their chances. When I finally called Grace on her cellphone, she told me that they had almost reached the crossing point. I told her what was happening. She said that they wanted to continue on. I then advised her that once they crossed into Israel, they should drive quickly south towards Jerusalem. I never expected her be denied entry by the Israelis for a completely different reason.
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Aug
01
2006
By Daoud Kuttab
One of the underreported motives of the capture by Hizbullah of two Israeli soldiers was the Lebanese Islamist attempts to help out besieged Palestinians. For those with short memories, Gaza was being pounded indiscriminately in what many considered a collective punishment to the Palestinians because of their capture of an Israeli soldier.
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Jul
27
2006
By: Daoud Kuttab *
It is an accepted theory that truth is the first casualty of war. In the present Israeli war on Lebanon spin is certainly the first victor. The misinformation and the disinformation put out by the Israelis and often picked up by the western media have become to accepted realities.
One of the most extreme myths put out by Israelis is that the war Israel is now involved in is an existential defensive war. This has been stated by non other than Israeli noble peace winner and deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Continue Reading »
Jul
22
2006
By Daoud Kuttab
The irony to the present Israeli Lebanese war is in its role reversals. Hizbullah which is called by Israel and the US a terrorist organization acted more and more like a traditional army, and Israel which prides itself with its military is acting more like a terrorist state. Militarily Hizbullah has been more accurate, more credible while the Israeli’s credibility is quickly evaporating. Even traditional Arab governmental lip against Israel and in favor or any anti Israeli attacks has also been reversed to attacks against a group that is actually succeeding in making Israel pain for its aggression. Continue Reading »
Jul
14
2006
Daoud Kuttab
After 50 years of fighting, Palestinians and Israelis seem to have finally found the one thing that can really get the other side really angry. This became clear this week when the Israelis went berserk because of their inability to return their captured soldier and ordinary Palestinians felt completely helpless to stop the crimes of war in the form of collective punishments that Israel meted out in retaliation.
Palestinians and Israelis have become more polarized these past two weeks than at any time that I can recall.
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Jun
02
2006
Daoud Kuttab
The assignment the editors at Al Quds Educational television gave their reporter seemed simple: Go out and assess the public’s reaction to the suggestion by President Mahmoud Abbas to hold a referendum based on the Palestinian prisoners’ agreement.
Normally filming vox pox (short reactions of people in the street) takes twenty minutes. This time, Numan Kabaah, who was given this assignment, found it difficult to record on video 8-10 reactions representing different points of view. After almost two hours and 20 interviews, Numan couldn’t show a single Palestinian who was opposed to the referendum. Shifting from Rukab street in Ramallah to Manara Square and closer to Al Bireh produce market, he could find no one against a plebiscite that could put an end to the ongoing controversy in Palestine .
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May
05
2006
by  Daoud Kuttab
For 39 years of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, Palestinians have been able to survive through a variety of mechanisms. Being under occupation, Palestinians were able to discover ways to beat the system. Before the Palestinian Authority was established, non-governmental organisations created a state-like infrastructure that dealt with people’s needs.
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Apr
30
2006
AmmanNet, the Arab world’s first Internet radio station, won the gold medal at the 2006 Pan Arab Media Awards. The ceremony, in its second year was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Thursday April 28. The first award ceremony was held in .
The registered Awards is supported by the Arab League. The awards aims to “promote the innovative spirit of web designers to meet professional and international standards, to promote intellectual and production opportunities.”
Daoud Kuttab founder of AmmanNet hailed the prize as a recognition by the Arab world that the Net can be a strategic instrument to bypass traditional roadblocks to independent media in general and independent radio in particular.
The web designer of Ammannet, Raed Nesheiwat of the Jordanian IT company Tamamtech, says that he was thrilled that the award recognized open source software powering the site. “We have worked hard to customize the content management site using the open source Campsite software initially created by MDLF to be available license-free  for use by any interested Arab media entrepreneur.”
www.Ammannet.net was established in 2000 as an internet radio station. In June 2005 it began broadcasting terrestrially on 92.4 FM in the Amman metropolitan area.