By Daoud Kuttab

My column in the NY Times Room for Debate

Without Addressing Settlements, There’s Little Hope

A charitable view of the Obama charm offensive in Israel requires that we assume the president is rewarding the Israeli occupiers in hopes they will somehow agree to do what is right.

In answering a question from Chuck Todd of NBC, the president conceded that he was unable to do what he wanted in the peace process in his first term but blamed his failure on the sheer difficulty of the problems. The truth is that the failure was because of domestic political pressures that have crippled his ability to conduct a fair and just foreign policy, especially in regard to Israel.

In his second term, electoral pressure is greatly reduced, but Obama has surprisingly continued to avoid confrontation. Instead he has elected to reward Israel’s stubborn refusal to stop its actions regarding settlements; the Obama administration is feeding into Israel’s endless appetite for weaponry, and giving the nation a free hand in Iran, Gaza and elsewhere. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

When it became clear that US President Barack Obama was to visit Ramallah and hold a press conference, local and foreign journalists quickly applied online for the special accreditation created for the event. More than 250 foreign and 140 Palestinian journalists were accredited. On the eve of the visit, however, 18 Palestinian journalists received a phone call from a member of Palestinian Preventative Security, an intelligence arm close to the CIA, telling them that they would not be allowed to enter the Muqata, the headquarters of the Palestinian presidency. The list included journalists working for international agencies who regularly cover events at the Muqata. Continue Reading »

Following appeared in The Jordan Times

By Daoud Kuttab

Why can’t Palestinians travel between West Bank and Gaza?

The question should be asked now as everyone is preparing for US President Barack Obama’s visit to the region.

During a visit to Gaza, I was surprised by the number of Palestinians I met, who were in their 20s and 30s, who have never been to the West Bank, including to Jerusalem.

Nearly three million Palestinians in the West Bank are prevented from travelling to Gaza (except through Jordan, Egypt and then try crossing at Rafah) and 1.5 million Gazan Palestinians are not able to travel to the West Bank using any border. This is not a travel ban against certain people who are a security threat. Continue Reading »

Following appeared in The Jordan Times

By Daoud Kuttab

Maghdis was living in the US when the Qadhafi regime fell in Libya. A linguist by profession, Maghdis had established an NGO to help his community of Imazighen.

Muammar Qadhafi had banned his people from using their language. With Qadhafi gone, Maghdis decided to return to the white mountains south of Tripoli to establish a local community radio station that will broadcast in the ethnic Imazighen language.

In the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the Sakkafs have been putting out a quality English language newspaper, The Yemen Times. Then the revolution provided a unique opportunity. The children of the late Abdel Aziz Sakkaf, whose exposés on torture in Yemen is suspected to have got him killed — the incident is still unresolved — wanted to start an independent Arabic language radio station. Continue Reading »

Following appeared in The Jordan Times

by Daoud Kuttab

One of the most important decisions regarding the future of Jordan is being taken with most of the country in total darkness.

The Washington Post reported last week that within the next month, the Jordanian government will decide which of two consortiums will be building Jordan’s and the Arab region’s first totally independent nuclear plant. Ever since the 16th Parliament voted against the establishment of a nuclear plant in the country, the public has been passive about the issue.

A Google search as well as a search in the widest selling Arabic newspaper, Al Rai, failed to reveal any discussions or statements in 2013 by the head of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), Khaled Toukan. The only exception was a meeting he had with Hamzah Mansour, of the Islamic Action Front, reported only on a local news website. Continue Reading »

Following appeared in the Jordan Times

By Daoud Kuttab

The visit of US President Barack Obama to the Middle East is a welcome step. It has elevated interest in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at a time when other regional issues have taken over regional and world interest.

Having the presidential office interested in this conflict needs a totally different approach to the conflict. Without the presidential involvement, the powerful Israelis have no problem in oppressing the people under their occupation. And perhaps Israelis, who get away with murder when dealing independently with the Palestinians, might find themselves embarrassed when a US president looks over their shoulders.

In general, therefore, the Obama factor is a potentially good thing for peace. The problem is how to make this factor last. How to create mechanisms that will continue to work even when a US president or his secretary of state are not around?  Continue Reading »

Following appeared in The Jordan Times

By Daoud Kuttab

The issue of Jerusalem has always been a hot topic at Arab summits. If there were a Guinness Book record for the number of times the city of Jerusalem was mentioned at these meetings — not of the actual support, however — this would probably be a winner.

The Arab summit, which ended in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday, vowed to support Palestinians in Jerusalem with a $1 billion special fund. The oil-rich Qatari emirate donated $250 million towards this fund, which reportedly will be collected through the Islamic Development Bank.

A quick reading of the comments of Jerusalemites reflects a high degree of scepticism that such promises will ever be carried on or that, if paid, they will actually reach their intended goals. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The next few days will reveal whether Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will stay in his position or be replaced. The Palestinian cabinet is due to vote during its weekly meeting Tuesday, March 26 on the annual budget of the state of Palestine. If the budget is approved and then signed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Fayyad will be safe.

Palestine has been full of rumors that Fayyad, a former International Monetary Fund official and prime minister since 2009, might be on his way out following a falling out between him and the Palestinian president.

What exacerbated the case was the resignation of the finance minister, Nabil Kassis. Kassis submitted his resignation to the prime minister in part because he felt that Fayyad had bypassed him to negotiate with some unions who were opposed to the budget. Fayyad accepted Kassis’ resignation immediately without consulting the president. Abbas, who was away at the time, was livid and issued an immediate press statement rejecting the resignation. He asked Tayeb Abdel Rahim — the director-general of his office — to ensure that the problems between Kassis and Fayyad were resolved. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The mayor of Bethlehem, Vera Baboun, was sure that the khamsin sand storm that hit the area on Friday was divine.

Speaking to Al-Monitor from her Bethlehem home, the mayor said that the sudden weather change was a divine act, forcing the US president to travel by car into Bethlehem rather than by helicopter. Why is this important, she asked rhetorically? By driving, Obama would have no choice but to see the wall surrounding the city. It was as if, she said, “God willed that Mr. Obama enter from the gate of reality, rather than from the sky of no reality.”

Baboun, who was encouraged by the president to stay longer than protocol handlers had wished, said that she explained to the US president that the city where Jesus was born is only 7.3 square kilometers [2.8 square miles] that is totally walled. She explained to the American president that half of this area is declared Area C, which the Palestinian city council is not allowed to develop. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The hashtag that was trending on Thursday afternoon said it all. ObamainIsrael was one of the top hashtags on Twitter most of the afternoon of March 21, especially during and after the speech made by President Barack Obama to a group of young Israelis.

There was no doubt about the goal of the visit: to smooth relations with Israel and to attempt to reconnect with the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, whom the president fondly called by his nickname, Bibi. Continue Reading »