Palestine, media, Jordan, community radio, online journalism
By Daoud Kuttab The Israeli website that broke the story is not well known, but the content was so appealing that Palestinians jumped all over it. The site, Debkafile, claims that US Secretary of State John Kerry offered to help the Palestinians build their long-awaited airport and to get Israel to turn over a large section of land that…
By Daoud Kuttab During the Israeli reoccupation of major Palestinian cities in 2002, the Israeli army took over the building that was housing Al Quds University’s Educational Television station, of which I was the director at the time. After 19 days, Israeli soldiers withdrew from Ramallah, leaving behind destroyed equipment. Some of the equipment destroyed had…
By Daoud Kuttab On the same day as the World Economic Forum was holding its dramatic closing session with back-to-back speeches from President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli President Shimon Peres and US Secretary of State John Kerry, I was mourning the passing of a dear friend’s mom. Abbas reiterated the Palestinian government’s total commitment to peace and security,…
By Daoud Kuttab After Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy and Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy, the Middle East seems to be getting to know John Kerry’s “shawarma diplomacy.” The US secretary of state stepped out of the usually scripted diplomatic itinerary and walked the streets of the Palestinian town of al-Bireh to enjoy a quick shawarma sandwich and…
By Daoud Kuttab If physical access is an important requirement for good journalism, the ability of Palestinians and Israelis to cover their ongoing conflict is largely compromised. This is one of the issues raised by a delegation of the International Press Institute (IPI)Â that visited Palestine and Israel in February. The mission sponsored by the…
By Daoud Kuttab The political stalemate in Palestine and Israel over the two-state solution has finally provoked Palestinians from the occupied territories to declare a strategic change in direction of the one-state solution. Palestinian activists from different political persuasions and careers paths have made a declaration for a democratic state for all its citizens on the…
By Daoud Kuttab On the surface, the issue seems rather futile. The Israeli government, which has built hundreds of exclusively Jewish settlements in the occupied territories in violation of international law, is being criticized for “legalizing” four of these illegal settlements. What is it about “outposts” that makes them different from other settlements? A…
By Daoud Kuttab The news out of Cairo regarding Palestinian reconciliation efforts appears to be generally positive. The delegation headed by senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk and Fatah’s Azzam al-Ahmad met and agreed on a package deal that seems to address all the outstanding issues between the two parties. Statements issued in Cairo…
By Daoud Kuttab One of the hardest decisions that a political leader has to take is when to engage in negotiations and when to refrain. This has been the dilemma facing Palestinian leaders for decades. At times they are blamed for refusing to engage and at other times their engagement has given the other…
By Daoud Kuttab Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has called on the Palestinian leadership to stay relevant and engaged. The outgoing prime minister, who is heading a caretaker government, made this plea from his office in Ramallah. In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Al-Monitor, Fayyad explains the reason for his optimistic outlook despite the…