The escalation of violence in the Middle East has been so predictable it is sad. No Palestinian or Israeli needed to lose their lives. More lives on both sides could be saved if Israel simply agrees on a bilateral ceasefire instead of its persistent attempts to force the Palestinians to cease-fire while it retains the right to attack and assassinate Palestinians at will. Over the years an Israeli pattern of assassinating Palestinian leaders as they are preparing to agree on a unilateral ceasefire has consistently derailed such an attempt for quiet. Continue Reading »

Ramallah- The mood here among Palestinians has been quite optimistic even before the Bush administration succeeded in ‘convincing’ the Israelis to accept the quartet’s road map for peace in the Middle East. This high expectation is worrisome and potentially dangerous.

The downfall of the Saddam Hussein regime, the appointment of an empowered Palestinian prime minister and the repeated promises of statehood by President Bush, Prime Minister Blair have partially contributed to this optimism. Continue Reading »

The scores of innocent Israelis killed Saturday and Sunday in a series of Palestinian suicide attacks and the scores of innocent Palestinians killed before and since in various Israeli operations, point to the need for a new approach to resolve the Palestinian-Israel conflict. . This new approach must be based on secrecy and the need to work out a package agreement away from the pressures and pitfalls of a publicly declared process. Continue Reading »

Much has been said about the effects to the Middle East of the end of the Saddam Hussein regime. But surprisingly nothing has been said about the strategic meaning of the presence of US forces to the territorial security arguments that have blocked Palestinian-Israeli agreements. Continue Reading »

Without wanting to, I found myself in the middle of an inter Palestinian power struggle in 1997. Although Palestinians had witnessed historic legislative elections the new Palestinian legislative council was fighting for recognition and respectability from and unexpected rival. The Palestinian executive branch headed by President Yasser Arafat. My ‘sin’ was that I was helping empower the Legislative Council by broadcasting live its deliberations on a local educational television station. I was the weak link in the struggle between the executive branch and the legislative branch. I paid a price by being detained for one week after broadcasting a session dealing with corruption in the Palestinian Authority. Continue Reading »

The road from Jerusalem to Ramallah, especially near Qalandia refugee camp is still full of potholes. But the Qalandia checkpoint, which used to take some times hours to cross, was a breeze, this week. I drove right up to the checkpoint without any delay and the Israeli soldier quickly pass me through. I had a similar experience on the way back. A similar situation has been reported at the dreaded Surda checkpoint connecting Ramallah to Bir Zeit. Palestinians in other locations are reporting similar easing of the checkpoints. Continue Reading »

The conflict between the United States and Iraq has left a dark cloud over the Middle East in general and on Palestine in particular. The fear among Palestinians regarding the war in Iraq stem from a number of issues: Continue Reading »

Danny Qumsieh has been working hard this Christmas season to raise money so that Bethlehem’s only local radio station can continue in its tradition of covering the holiday events. As manager of the radio station he was frustrated that he was unable to find commercial sponsors because of the devastating economic situation due to the Israeli reoccupation of the city. So he turned to NGOs and Christian organizations asking if they would agree to financial underwrite the radio’s important work. Just when he felt confident that the station will be able to go ahead with the coverage, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Israeli soldiers decided on December 23 to take over the building housing the station. The staff of the radio station and the entire building was evacuated and the station had to go off the air. Continue Reading »

Palestinians might differ considerably over what is the best way to resist the Israeli occupation. Some might argue for nonviolent resistance while others insist that only violent resistance will eventually lead to the exit of the occupational forces. Some Palestinians argue that anti Israeli attacks must be limited to the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip while others say that since Palestinian civilians are not immune from Israeli attacks, Israeli civilians can’t expect any different treatment. Continue Reading »

The time was almost midnight on September 20th when a number of the satellite stations interrupted their regular programming to announce that Israeli soldiers had warned Palestinians living near Arafat’s headquarters that the building would be blown up in 15 minutes if those inside it didn’t come out. Continue Reading »