Aug
25
2006
Daoud Kuttab
As I predicted in earlier columns, Israel’s unilateral policy has proven to be one of the first victims of its war against Lebanon. Politically tarnished from the unsuccessful gamble in Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert clearly cannot stomach another ill advised gamble that will turn both the Israeli right and left against him. Continue Reading »
Aug
25
2006
Daoud Kuttab
As I predicted in earlier columns, Israel’s unilateral policy has proven to be one of the first victims of its war against Lebanon. Politically tarnished from the unsuccessful gamble in Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert clearly cannot stomach another ill advised gamble that will turn both the Israeli right and left against him.
The failure of Israeli unilateralism in both Lebanon and Gaza highlight the fact that peace cannot be decided by one party. For way too long Israelis have attempted to negotiate among themselves with respect to issues dealing with their Arab counterparts.
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Aug
21
2006
by Daoud Kuttab
The outcome so far of the Israeli war on Lebanon is a mixed bag for Palestinians. The war reinforced the near blind support Israel enjoys in what both Israel and the US consider the war on terror. The Israelis clearly have a blank check to do almost anything they want to Lebanese or Palestinians so long as it is done in the name of a war against Hizballah or Hamas. Continue Reading »
Aug
17
2006
The following appeared in the NY Times web site TimesSelect under the heading in the line of fire. Some reactions to the article are also posted below:
Hard Crossings
By Daoud Kuttab, Ramallah, West Bank
Expressing its utmost concern at the continuing escalation of hostilities which has already caused hundreds of deaths and injuries on both sides, extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons …
Calls on Israel and Lebanon to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons …
The above are two excerpts from the recently approved United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. Due to the political and military situation, I feel rather confident that the displaced Lebanese (and certainly the Israelis) will be allowed to return to their homes (though the condition those homes will be in — if they are even still standing — is another matter.
Nevertheless, I thought of the issue of displacement as I was traveling across the Jordan River from Amman to Ramallah using an international crossing point that bears three names; Jordan calls it the King Hussein Bridge, Israel calls it Allenby Bridge and the Palestinians call it Al Karameh Crossing Point.
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Aug
16
2006
by Daoud Kuttab
Wars are won not only on battlefields, but also in people’s minds. So, while Hezbollah has not decisively won its current war with Israel, by maintaining its ability to fight in the face of the might of the Israeli army, it has captured the imagination of Arabs, restoring lost pride in the same way as the Egyptian Army’s crossing of the Suez Canal in the war of 1973 did. Restored pride was central to Anwar Sadat’s eventual decision to go to Jerusalem and regain the entire Sinai Peninsula for Egypt. Continue Reading »
Aug
14
2006
Below is an article that appeared on the web site of the New York Times Timeselect
At the end of the article, I have copied 64 on line reactions, the vast majority of them very positive. Take time to read and feel free to distribute:
August 11, 2006, 9:53 pm
Christian Zionists and False Prophets
By Daoud Kuttab, Ramallah, West Bank
As if we don’t have enough problems with Muslim and Jewish fundamentalists, we are now confronted with yet another -ist. Christian Zionists, mostly from the United States, are trying to throw their weight behind one of the parties, in effect calling for the continuation of the war and carnage in Lebanon. Continue Reading »
Aug
11
2006
Daoud Kuttab
Whenever a war breaks out anywhere in the world, you often hear some people say things like, “there are no rules governing warfare. This, of course, is incorrect. There are definitely laws applicable to war, the same as there are laws for times of peace. In fact what is now referred to as international humanitarian law has developed in the past years to include all international laws, conventions and charters dealing specifically with conduct during wartime. Naturally when you define what is allowed and what is not allowed in times of war, you have no choice but to also deal with war crimes. On the eve of the US-led war on Iraq, I helped put online (www.crimesofwar.org) a series of articles in Arabic designed to help journalists and the public recognise the difference between acts of war and crimes of war.
Writing on this website after the outbreak on the war on Lebanon, Anthony Dworkin, director of the International Crimes of War Project, lists several issues that must be taken into consideration when assessing whether a war crime has been committed. “First, it is forbidden to direct an attack against civilians who are not taking an active part in hostilities. Second, it is forbidden to attack civilian objects unless they make an effective contribution to your enemy’s military operations. Thirdly, it is against the law to launch indiscriminate attacks — attacks that cannot be directed at a specific military target. Attacks are also considered indiscriminate if they violate the principle of proportionality.
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Aug
03
2006
The following appeared in the New York Times TimesSelect section under the heading in the Line of Fire
August 2, 2006, 9:31 pm
By Daoud Kuttab, Ramallah, West Bank
For about three hours on Tuesday, I was really concerned. My sister Grace and her four children were traveling from Jordan to see relatives in the West Bank using the northern Jordan-Israel crossing point. The source of my concern was a news item I saw on TV saying that a Hezbollah rocket had fallen on Bisan in northern Israel. Bisan, literally on the other side of the border crossing that the family was about to reach, is now called Beit Shean and is 100 percent inhabited by Israelis. I was debating whether to ask them to turn back or or let them take their chances. When I finally called Grace on her cellphone, she told me that they had almost reached the crossing point. I told her what was happening. She said that they wanted to continue on. I then advised her that once they crossed into Israel, they should drive quickly south towards Jerusalem. I never expected her be denied entry by the Israelis for a completely different reason.
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Aug
01
2006
By Daoud Kuttab
One of the underreported motives of the capture by Hizbullah of two Israeli soldiers was the Lebanese Islamist attempts to help out besieged Palestinians. For those with short memories, Gaza was being pounded indiscriminately in what many considered a collective punishment to the Palestinians because of their capture of an Israeli soldier.
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