By Daoud Kuttab

“We agreed that all relevant parties must work urgently for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. We support a two-state solution with an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbors. We call for the necessary steps to build trust and urge the parties to work toward the resumption of direct negotiations without preconditions, taking note of the Sept. 23, 2011, statement of the Middle East Quartet. We affirm our support for the Palestinian Authority and its state-building efforts and encourage the international community to extend the fullest assistance possible to revitalizing the Palestinian economy.“

The above statement is part of the final communiqué of the leaders of the Group of Eight countries that met Tuesday in Northern Ireland. Continue Reading »

Following appeared in today’s Jordan Times

by Daoud Kuttab | Jun 19, 2013 | 23:33

War is a terrible thing with extremely bad results. But this does not mean people should not be ready for it, even if such a possibility is very remote.

Washington’s decision to arm the Syrian rebels (albeit lightly) and the announcement by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi that his country will cut off all diplomatic relations with Syria do not bode well for a quick and peaceful solution to the civil war that has been raging on in Syria for the past two years.

Some Jordanian officials and members of Parliament have asked that the Syrian ambassador to Jordan be considered persona non grata because of some anti-Jordanian statements he made recently.

The decision to ask the US to keep the Patriot anti-missile defence system and to keep the squadron of F16 fighters in Jordan is a hint that a war, or being on the receiving side of a war, is not such a remote possibility. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Music and art festivals are common occurrences in the summer the world over. But the Bet Lahem Live festival held in Bethlehem this week had a higher calling: mixing music and entertainment with the need to strengthen the steadfastness of Palestinians and a special focus on Palestinian Christians.

The Bet Lahem festival organized by the Holy Land Trust, a local NGO set up by Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, which ended Sunday night, was a resounding success. It brought local and international attention to a neglected part of the birthplace of Jesus.

Held in the old city of Bethlehem with activities throughout the city’s Star Street, the festival has done more to revive a forgotten and historic part of the city than all actions of politicians and local leaders combined.

Star Street was recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 2012. Long ignored and neglected, Star Street received a fresh look as volunteers hit the streets cleaning, painting and reviving the oldest route to the Church of the Nativity. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Contrary to what many believe, the possibility of US intervention in the Syrian crisis will undoubtedly increase US pressure on Israel to solve the Palestinian conflict.

The decision by the Barack Obama administration on June 13 to inform Congress of its assessment that chemical weapons have been used multiple times by the Syrian regime is the clearest indication yet that Washington will become more deeply involved in the conflict. In a situation so reminiscent of the US intervention in Iraq, American officials most certainly will be calculating the political costs of such a decision.

Obama’s belated decision to arm the rebels and encourage other parties to possibly share in creating a no-fly zone in Syria will be welcomed by the rebels and Sunni Arab leaders. A considerable portion of the Arab population, however, is likely to be angered by Americans once again intervening in the affairs of a sovereign Arab country. As with Iraq, the single most-repeated phrase will be “double standard.” Various Arab thinkers and commentators as well as demonstrators will ask this simple question: Why intervene in a civil war while refraining from taking a serious position in the 46-year-old military occupation by a US ally? Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Amona Abed Rabo remembers the TV interview with Israeli President Shimon Peres quite well. Demonstrating with a photo of her son Issa Abed Rabo when US President Barack Obama visited Bethlehem, she repeated every question and answer of a TV interview with President Peres. She slows down and raises her voice when she gets to the section of the interview in which the architect of the Oslo Accords confirms his commitment to the release of Palestinians imprisoned before the Oslo Accords.

Some 107 Palestinian prisoners (some accounts say 103) arrested before September 1993 are still held in Israeli jails. The prisoners, who belong to the PLO’s Fatah movement, feel betrayed by Israel and their own leaders. Having been sent on military missions by their PLO leaders, these men are rotting in jail while the leaders who gave the orders for them have been free since 1993. Promises made by the Israelis, including former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, have not been fulfilled.

This week it was revealed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected an Israeli offer to have 50 of the prisoners released. Abbas insists that all prisoners must be released as part of a US-brokered agreement to restart face-to-face peace talks. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was due to visit the region for an unprecedented fifth visit, has postponed his trip. Some believe that the disagreement over the release of the Palestinian prisoners might have something to do with Kerry’s decision to delay a visit that was aimed at announcing a small breakthrough. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Ever since the creation of the first Palestinian government headed by Mahmoud Abbas, there has been tension between the presidency and the prime minister’s office. At the time of that first government, there was pressure on Palestinians to shift as much power as possible away from former President Yasser Arafat and to the government of Prime Minister Abbas.

After Arafat’s death, the tables were turned when Abbas became president. Attempts were made to shift some of the powers back to the president, especially after the victory of pro-Hamas members of Parliament in 2006 and the appointment of Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister.

Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad reversed the trend one more time, insisting on enjoying the full authority given to him by Palestinian law. The conflict between Abbas and Fayyad reached its pinnacle when Fayyad refused Abbas’s call to allow resigned Finance Minister Nabil Kassis to return. Eventually, Abbas won the tug-of-war with the resignation of Fayyad. A photo during a ceremony in which Abbas honored Fayyad for his 13 years of service with the medal of honor shows both leaders emotionless, a clear reflection of how bad the relationship had become. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

One of the most controversial Israeli laws that have been attacked as having a racist connotation was passed in the Israeli Knesset in 1950. The Absentee Law considered property belonging to Palestinians who left their lands and homes during the 1948 war to automatically belong to the Custodian of Absentee Property. This controversial law is being applied to lands in East Jerusalem whose owners live in nearby West Bank cities. Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jerusalem were part of one country in 1967. It is typical for Palestinians to own land in East Jerusalem even if they don’t live in Jerusalem.

The Israeli news site Ynet quoted a statement made by the Israeli attorney general in an Israeli court that this 1950 law is being used against Palestinian property. Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein stated that property in East Jerusalem belonging to Palestinian residents of the West Bank is to be defined as Absentee’s property. Weinstein was asked to produce a ruling on the issue in the course of a Supreme Court debate. Ynet states that in the past, attorneys general have given differing instructions on the subject, and now the Supreme Court has to rule whether Weinstein’s stance is acceptable. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

In a surprise move only two weeks after promises to the contrary, the Jordanian government ordered three local Internet service providers to shut down nearly 300 news websites that have not been licensed by the government-run Press and Publications Department.

The decision ordered midday June 2 followed 10 months of promises by the government and the royal court that the controversial law ordering the owners of any website that deals with news and commentary about Jordan to be licensed. The order does not include web giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Google or Yahoo. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Thirteen years ago I attended an international event in Amman where then minister of information Saleh Qallab spoke enthusiastically about Jordan’s new media policy. He specifically stressed the fact that the Internet will be an open and free space for everyone. I was so impressed that I decided there and then to set up an Internet radio station in a country that didn’t allow anyone other than government to operate a radio station. Later at that conference in 2000 we were invited to an audience with His Majesty King Abdullah. I asked the King about the radio scene in Jordan noting that Jordanians are receivers of radio content from outside but are not able to be masters of their own radio voices. The King answered that he expects radio licences to be privatised within a few years. I went ahead and set up AmmanNet.Net and it became the Arab world’s first independent Internet based radio station.

A few years I was able to also get a 10-year licence for a FM radio station (Radio Al Balad) in the capital. I was always worried about the FM radio and not the Internet site. Hundreds of sites that focus on news, audio and video commentary have mushroomed since then.

This week, however, in a decision that was clearly not well thought out the government ordered local Internet service providers to block some 300 news websites. The official reason is that these sites had failed to obtain licences from the Press and Publications Department in accordance with a law that Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour himself had voted against when he was a member of the Lower House. The controversial law, which was railroaded in Parliament, became effective last September. Jordanian website owners and relevant international bodies protested against this undemocratic law. The appointment of Ensour as prime minister was welcomed by local journalists and when the new premier visited the tent set up by protesting website owner and promised to deal with the new law with an open mind and goodwill, the protest was quietly halted. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

It is not clear what we can conclude from the appointment of Rami Hamdallah to head the Palestinian government following the resignation of Salam Fayyad.

On the one hand, Hamdallah is known during his long term as the president of Palestine’s largest university as an efficient, centralized bureaucrat who gets the job done. On the other hand, many suspect that he is an interim prime minister being brought in to fill the vacuum that exists between the departure of Fayyad and the expected elections that will occur once all the details of the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas are resolved.

One hint as to which of these two options is the valid one might be found through keeping an eye on what is happening at Hamdallah’s current employer. The talk at An Najah University in Nablus is that Hamdallah is expected to appoint a deputy — possibly Vice President for Academic Affairs Maher Natashe — who will be given the title of acting president. If that takes place and Hamdallah doesn’t officially resign from his position, then we are witnessing an interim prime minister and not one who will be around for some time.

Faculty and students alike at An Najah say that Dr. Rami Hamdallah is very much a hands-on bureaucrat who tries to be involved in all details of almost every aspect of university life. He is given, every morning, a list of attending faculty, what time they arrived and who was late. He is not a delegator, but rather a control person. Continue Reading »