After years of gloom, Palestine woke up this week to a celebration never before witnessed. Huge signs of leading candidates to presidency have replaced posters of martyrs and Intifada graffiti. Local newspapers are also full of advertisements with headlines like: “Ending the occupation”, “Security for the citizen”, “Reform and development” (Mahmoud Abbas). Or Tayseer Khaled’s — the candidate for change — “No peace without Jerusalem which is the jewel of the nation and the root of our existence”. The candidate of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine even advertises his e-mail and website: www.vote-tayseer.com. Continue Reading »

The past few weeks have shown that Palestinian president Yaser Arafat can’t be put into a predictable box. Just when it was thought that Arafat was on the ropes and going down, he emerged stronger than before. And just when people thought that the up and coming Mohammad Dahlan was down and out (some even predicted that he would be killed if he stepped foot in Ramallah’s Muqata’a) he gets invited to a one on one meeting with Arafat. The first meeting has been followed by a second meeting on Wednesday and the rumor now is that he is being considered again for the position of interior minister within the reform cabinet that Arafat and Abu Ala’a are under pressure to deliver. Continue Reading »

The hunger strike initiated by thousands of Palestinian prisoners on Aug. 15 is a powerful non-violent act. While no one expects Israeli officials to welcome this act of protest, the utterances of senior Israeli officials wishing the Palestinian prisoners to starve to death and stating that they will refrain from providing hospitalization to the prisoners whose health is deteriorating is sickening. Continue Reading »

Like many other Palestinians, I was glad to hear the news that Ghazi Jabali, director of the Palestinian police, was fired on Saturday. I never met the man, but I did speak to him by phone, and it was not a pleasant conversation. He wanted to talk to me as I was being released in 1997 after seven days of detention in a Palestinian police lockup. Continue Reading »

It seems, more and more now, that Palestinian municipal elections will take place some time this fall. This was the conclusion stated by Amal Khreisheh, one of the members of the independent elections commission.

The press in Palestine this week was full of reports about the postponement of municipal elections. Khreisheh insists that this is not the case. “No doubt was declared for us to have postponed it,” she said. The Palestinian National Authority had stated, some six months ago, that the municipal elections will take place sometime this summer, but no specific date was set and therefore there is no postponement, she insists. Continue Reading »

The Jerusalem-Ramallah road is no longer the same once you get to Dahiyat Al Barid. The return lane is all dug up and huge cement slabs fill the area. For the people of the East Jerusalem suburbs of Al Ram and Dahiyat Al Barid the reality of the Wall has become very concrete. The 30,000 Jerusalemites living in this area have just realized that they are on the other side of the WALL. Their trips to school, business, hospital or to pray in the old city of Jerusalem will now become a major ordeal. Continue Reading »

The latest World Bank report about the situation in Gaza is worthy of close attention and scrutiny. While the concentration has been correctly focused on the importance of the Israeli withdrawal and dismantlement of their illegal settlements, many more issues are clearly in need of attention. A World Bank official once told me that the main obstacle preventing Gaza and the West Bank from reaching economic prosperity is bureaucracy. He said he had never seen in any country in which he had served so many bureaucratic restrictions that have such a direct negative effect on the economy. Continue Reading »

The determined decision by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to go through with his plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip mandates a second look at the concept of “unilateral.”

Unilateralism has properly been painted in a negative light. Negotiations between enemies should lead the way out of conflict. However, if either  party refuses to negotiate, as the position of Israel has been, other options must be explored. Continue Reading »

The persistent decision by the Israeli leader Ariel Sharon to go through with his plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip dictates that a second look at the concept of unilateralism.

Unilateralism has properly been painted negatively. Negotiations even between enemies have been and should be the way out of conflict. Nevertheless, if either of the parties refuses to negotiate, as the position of Israel has been, other options must be found. Continue Reading »

There is no doubt that Israel plans to withdraw completely and totally from the Gaza Strip. What remains to be answered is when and how. But until the withdrawal actually takes place, many more will die, more hardship, anger and hatred will take place. Israelis and Palestinians will undoubtedly see bad days. Why? Continue Reading »