By Daoud Kuttab

When Washington Post Jerusalem bureau chief William Booth wanted to write a column about the recent violence in Jerusalem, he went to the most obvious location — Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate. There he found exactly whom he sought to interview, but he also found jittery Israeli security officers. What transpired Feb. 16 is detailed in a statement of protest by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel.

“When Booth and Taha tried to interview some high school students on the steps opposite the gate, police waved them away. They then retreated to interview the teenagers under a tree. Shortly after, border police waved the two journalists over and asked them for their IDs,” the FPA statement read. “Although the journalists made it very clear that they were reporting a story for The Washington Post, police took them to a nearby police station, where they were held for about 40 minutes, then released. When they asked police why they had been held, police said they had suspected the journalists of ‘inciting’ Palestinians.”  Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

AMMAN — Jamal Zahalka has been a member of the Israeli Knesset in good standing for 13 years. He was first elected to the 16th Israeli legislature in 2003 and has been regularly re-elected since.

In a phone interview with Al-Monitor, Zahalka explained that the Feb. 4 decision of the Ethics Committee against him and his colleagues “was purely political” and had nothing to do with ethics. The Ethics Committee deals with issues related to behavior and actions of Knesset members.

Zahalka, Zoabi and Ghattas are accused of showing sympathy with terrorists. Zahalka, however, said that the efforts of the parliamentarians to help families in East Jerusalem are “totally the kind of act a parliamentarian is supposed to do.”

The problems began when Palestinian families from East Jerusalem were unable to retrieve the bodies of their children more than four months after having been killed by Israeli security — often involving a violent interaction with Israelis. “The families tried, through their lawyers, to speak to the police, but were told that this is a political problem,” Zahalka said.

Zahalka, 61, and two other Knesset members went to an East Jerusalem cultural center Feb. 4 to meet with the families, and subsequently discussed these complaints with the Israeli police. Rather than engaging with them to negotiate the solution for this humanitarian problem, the meeting itself quickly became the focus of a vicious campaign led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the Arab Knesset members. “Netanyahu used our clearly parliamentary action to incite against us, saying we were paying condolences to terrorists even though our meeting was at a cultural center four months after the incident happened. Who pays condolences after four months?” Zahalka asked sarcastically. Continue Reading »

       

By Daoud Kuttab

For the first time in years, Palestinian reconciliation talks have not received the usual high-calibre media coverage, not even in the Palestinian media.

The low level of coverage might be a good thing. The deeply split parties Fateh and Hamas know that their credibility has been eroded by many false promises and optimistic headlines.

The current talks appear to focus on implementation mechanisms rather than making any changes to the content of previously signed agreements.

The Palestinian public is very sceptical regarding any breakthrough, and negotiators are aware of this, so it was a clever decision to keep the talks at very low profile, without making promises that might not be carried out.

The outstanding issue is clear: Hamas should allow the presidential guards to retake their former positions at the Gaza border crossings, which will ensure the opening of the Rafah crossing point.

This has been an Egyptian demand and all parties know that the Sisi administration, which is not very friendly to any Muslim Brotherhood group, will not negotiate it. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

You would expect the holder of the title “director of strategic communications and English-language spokesman” to talk about how to woo The New York Times or how to convince the BBC for positive write-ups about Palestine. But while Jamal Dajani — appointed Jan. 26 as new media guru for Palestine’s prime minister — is deeply interested in how the Palestinian narrative is reflected internationally, his first priority is working with the local media. For him, the first task in representing a politician is to communicate with the local constituency.

The new head of Palestinian communications lays out his credentials: “I have never been disconnected from Palestine. The nature of my work as a journalist, radio and TV producer and working in media development has put me in a unique position looking both from outside and the inside.”

The Palestinian-American journalist who won a Peabody Award for producing “MOSAIC: World News from The Middle East,” a TV program that provides original news from the Middle East, is not new to creating and leading communications strategies. He said, “I served as commissioner on human rights in San Francisco. I was also chairman of the Immigrant Rights Commission. In all these positions, the first order of business is to make sure that people know that you are working on their behalf.” Continue Reading »

For more than 52 years, Palestinians completing 12th grade have faced a stressful, life-changing experience. Their admission to university has depended on how they do on a single, national exam. The “tawjihi,” the comprehensive matriculation exam designed to test knowledge and ability, has been a source of incredible pressure for students, their families and communities at large.

Young Palestinians cram for weeks before the exam and often lose sleep trying to be as prepared as possible, learning by heart the information that might be on the test. The results determine whether a student will be admitted to medical school or qualifies to study engineering. Thus, the test has become a huge part of Palestinian life.

Sabri Saidam, Palestinian minister of education and higher education, told Al-Monitor that he wants to revise the tawjihi, which he believes covers too much material and is based on rote memorization. In doing so, Saidam seeks to reduce the pressure on students and their families while also better evaluating students’ abilities.

In a comprehensive interview with Al-Monitor, Saidam, who was appointed in August 2015, also wants to use changes to the controversial test to introduce a much more effective education system. The test results often determine people’s future and ultimately can bring great benefits to their families or keep them in poverty. Scholarships are available to students who get high grades. “This [testing] system divides society on the basis of the results of the tawjihi, which does not allow the students to express themselves and does not provide any space for analysis or interactive learning,” Saidam explained. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

In today’s politically expedient age, it has become rare to see a leader defend one of his own.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, went on air this week, attempting to deflect the avalanche of angry protests directed at the Palestinian intelligence chief Majid Faraj.

Faraj and a chief Palestinian negotiator were featured in a long article published in an American military publication.

The New York-based Defence News quoted Faraj as saying that the Palestinian security averted nearly 200 attacks against Israelis and arrested 100 Palestinians that were about to attack Israelis.

The statements drew angry responses, especially from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement.

Faraj was attacked even by a number of PLO leaders for his public justification of security cooperation with Israel at a time of continued Israeli summary executions of young Palestinian protesters. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The head of the Palestinian intelligence service, Maj. Gen. Majid Faraj, is often seen traveling alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In fact, Faraj has been considered by local and international analysts as one of the possible successors of the Palestinian leader.

The article titled “Keeping ISIS out of Palestine” talks about two possible contenders to take Abbas’ leadership position: Faraj, and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. In the 3,000-word piece, author Barbara Opall-Rome veers away from the danger of radicalism in Palestine and deals with Palestinian-Israeli relations. She writes about Faraj, “He insists that since October, PA intelligence and security forces have prevented 200 attacks against Israelis, confiscated weapons and arrested about 100 Palestinians — claims that were not rejected out of hand, but could not be confirmed by the Israeli military.” Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Palestinian journalist Salim Sweidan, owner of Nablus TV, was released Jan. 12 after having spent four days in jail. Sweidan, a member of the board of the Maan News Network, the leading independent satellite station and news website, was released on a bail of 1,000 Jordanian dinars ($1,400) after publishing an online apology.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Sweidan said that the reason for the arrest was that his TV station’s website republished a news story that had been written about the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a Hamas cell accused by Israel of killing two Israeli settlers in October 2015.

Members of the Palestinian Preventive Security Forces in Nablus had summoned Sweidan to their offices, where he was subsequently held. The name of one of the officers was listed in a controversial posting on the website that explained why the security force took the unusual step of arresting a well-known veteran journalist.

According to a testimony by his brother, Anees Sweidan, to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) on Jan. 11, Salim was accused of six charges, namely “the publication of articles harmful to Palestinian national unity, assault of Palestinian national unity, incitement as well as inciting sectarian conflicts, verbal abuse and contempt.” Continue Reading »

              

By Daoud Kuttab

If the Obama administration’s prediction that 2016 will fail to witness the birth of the Palestinian state proves true, then this year should be dedicated to leadership transition.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, 81, needs to hand in his long-awaited resignation and Palestinians at large should be given the chance to choose a new leadership.
A number of obstacles continue to cause delays in holding elections. The absence of a unified single control over the West Bank and Gaza is the largest.
The PLO and Hamas signed numerous reconciliation agreements, but have not carried out their commitments.
Some blame external forces of wanting to perpetuate the split. The regional differences that pitted nationalists against Islamists reflected almost daily on the Palestinian conflict.
The problem is not the war on extremism, but rather the conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

A leading Knesset member of the predominantly Arab Joint List has described press reports of a $3.8 billion budget to improve Arab communities in Israel as exaggerated. In an interview with Al-Monitor, MK Aida Touma-Sliman commented, “Our estimate is that it amounts to nearly 10 billion shekels [$2.5 billion].”

“Ending the occupation is a basic condition for our people to gain equality. As long as the government is looking at our people as enemies, and as long as there is occupation and settlements, the priority will always go to the defense budget and to settlements. For us, the battle for equality and ending the occupation are inseparable,” asserted Touma-Sliman. Continue Reading »