May
02
2011
If al-Qaeda followers turn to Yemen to pursue the work of Osama bin Laden’s network, they will be in for a surprise. The people of Yemen, like most of the Arab world, have long since divorced themselves from bin Laden and his ideology, as they are showing in theÂ
youth-led Arab uprising. For the past few months, hundreds of thousands of Yemenis — young and old, men and women — have been carrying out a nonviolent revolt with sit-ins, demonstrations and civil disobedience. Although the ruling party and its proxies have done everything they can to induce Yemenis to take up arms, the demonstrators have shown resilience, discipline and a determination to keep protests peaceful.
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Apr
30
2011
By Daoud Kuttab – Special to CNN
I place the chances for the birth of a Palestinian state this fall at fifty-fifty. The world community, including the United States, seems to favor the idea. Yet there is clearly a lack of political will and muscle for pushing Israel to seriously negotiate the emergence of Palestine. Continue Reading »
Apr
21
2011
Fateh, Hamas, PFLP, DFLP, Jihad Islami – these are some of the names of guerrilla movements that have dominated the Palestinian political scene.The modern Palestinian liberation movement began with various PLO factions; en route, it picked up Islamic anti-occupation movements. Each of these groupings has a military and a political wing. The public at large is often unable to distinguish between individuals and positions of the military and political wings. Continue Reading »
Apr
14
2011
By Daoud Kuttab
The past few months have seen no anti-American demonstrations and no burning of US flags across the Arab world. Arabs seem increasingly willing to accept – and even applaud – the Obama administration’s policy towards the region.
Of course, Arabs are still unhappy with the continued US bias in favour of Israel. Its inability to end the 44-year military occupation of Palestinian lands has not gone unnoticed. But many Arabs nowadays prefer to give the US a break. Continue Reading »
Apr
07
2011
Whenever anything happens in the world, Jews and Israelis ask the question: Is this good for Jews? But when a South African Jew who also insists that he is a Zionist was appointed to a human rights commission, the Jewish answer was a strong no. Continue Reading »
Apr
02
2011
I spent five working days in the Qatari capital of Doha teaching a course on writing opinions behalf of the International Center for Journalists. Forty Qataris between journalists and public servants involved in media issues attended in two repeated sessions held at the Qatar News Agency with twenty in either morning or afternoon session. Continue Reading »
Mar
31
2011
After last Friday’s violent breakup of the Ministry of Interior Circle gathering, the question everyone is asking is where we go next.
Does the atmosphere of confrontation, suspicion about the other, dual narratives and competing claims of loyalty continue in the weeks ahead? Continue Reading »
Mar
28
2011
Any country’s security force system is made up of various apparatuses that are unified at the top. Police, anti riot forces together with intelligence units are networked together to enforce a country’s overall security strategy. Uniformed and civilian dressed professionals are used as are various forms of hand equipment, sophisticated technologies, ground vehicles and air bound helicopters.
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Mar
24
2011
Daoud Kuttab
Who is responsible for the sudden escalation of the situation in the Gaza Strip? All of a sudden rockets are coming out from Gaza after a period of calm and Israel tanks are shelling residential areas, which killed four members of the Helu family in the Shejaiya refugee camp in the Strip. This was followed by the bus bombing that killed an Israeli women and injured tens. Continue Reading »
Mar
17
2011
By Daoud Kuttab
March 15 marked the launch of yet another Arab youth movement, following those in Egypt on January 25 and in Libya on February 17. The aim of this youth-led movement appears simple: end the split between Gaza and the West Bank and between the PLO and Hamas.
Popular uprisings are not new to Palestinians who introduced the term Intifada to the world in 1987. In fact many in Palestine feel that they broke the barrier of fear – a prerequisite for going out in the streets against brutal, violent crackdowns – long before the youth in Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain. Continue Reading »