By Daoud Kuttab

The official title of the first conference of its kind at An Najah university on April 28 was “The Palestinian Media in Light of Changes in the Arab World.” But a more appropriate title for the proceedings of the one-day event at Palestine’s largest university would have been “Whether Palestinian Journalists and the Palestine Media Merit Being a Special Case.”

The “special case” controversy erupted when the well-known journalist Nabil Amr told the large audience of his comments to Yasser Arafat as soon as Amr was appointed minister of information. ”I told him,” said the former minister, “that I intended to abolish the ministry and privatize Palestine TV and Sawt Falstine [Voice of Palestine radio] to a public service station such as the BBC.” Amr, who at one time suffered wounds from unknowns shooting into his house, said Arafat refused his idea without even a discussion. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

It is not clear whether Salam Fayyad uttered these exact terms, but what the New York Times’ Roger Cohen quoted the outgoing Palestinian prime minister as having said resonated with many Palestinians. Frustrated as to the lack of progress after 46 years of occupation, Palestinians are ready to find any scapegoat to pour all their frustrations on. The statement that the Palestinian leadership lacks a coherent strategy and that many decisions are taken without study and thought sounds about right to many people. But is it that simple?

There is definitely much to be said about the importance of tactics in negotiations and the need to maximize one’s strengths while trying to capitulate on the weakness of one’s opponent. But is the delay of a breakthrough in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict only the result of bad tactics and the absence of a strategy among Palestinians? Many would agree wholeheartedly. But the evidence is not that persuasive. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Sometimes the best way to gauge reactions to a particular action is to look away from it. The reactions of the Jordanian parliament and government on Wednesday, May 8, to Israel’s decisions regarding Al-Aqsa mosque is a prime example.

Jordan, one of two Arab countries that has signed a peace agreement with Israel, decided to withdraw its ambassador from Tel Aviv and summoned the Israeli ambassador to lodge a strong complaint about the events in Jerusalem. The Jordanian parliament, however, was much more radical, with MPs voting unanimously to demand that the government expel the Israeli ambassador.

While the decision of the parliament is not binding on the executive branch, it would be a mistake to dismiss the decision. Such an action reflects an increasingly angry mood in the Arab world in reaction to Israeli incursions into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Europe, Israel’s No. 1 trading partner, is once again trying to rethink its Israel policies in light of the latter’s failure to facilitate the two-state solution. The European Council for Foreign Relations (ECFR) has issued a powerful document aimed at guiding member states in dealing with Israel, Palestinians and Arabs.

Entitled “Europe and the Vanishing Two-State Solution,” the 65-page report written by Nick Witney deals with what Europeans think about the two-state solution, the need for and the constraints on European action, concluding with specific actions the EU can take. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The statement made by the Qatari prime and foreign minister in Washington in favor of adding a clause to the Arab Peace Initiative allowing for “land swaps”  caught many off guard and drew a largely negative reaction in Palestinian and Arab circles.

On the surface, the statement by Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani of Qatar in the presence of US Secretary of State John Kerry, the Arab League delegation (including the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki) didn’t seem like a problem. Hamad said: “The Arab League delegation affirmed that agreement should be based on the two-state solution on the basis of the 4th of June 1967 line, with the possible of comparable and mutual agreed minor swap of the land.”

Since the 2000 Camp David talks, the Palestinian leadership has accepted that while the two-state solution should be based on the pre-June 5, 1967, borders, the concept of land swaps was possible. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

After a seven-year legal battle, the Silesian nuns convent located in the Palestinian town of Beit Jala lost an appeal on April 24 against the building of the Israeli wall on its land. The latest route of the wall will place the convent on the Palestinian side of the wall, and its companion Cremisan Catholic monastery on the Israeli side. It will also take up most of the Church’s lands as well as that of 58 families, most of them Palestinian Christians.

According to a news release issued by the human rights organization that joined the lawsuit, the Israelis will place an agricultural gate that will be open at certain times of the year to allow the Church to tend its land. For decades, the Cremisan monastery has produced wine [from grapes] grown in the Cremisan Valley. Reports from Palestinian officials note that the latest decision will deny Palestinians the only remaining green area. Bethlehem city officials say that as a result of the 47-year- old occupation of Palestinian lands, the city has been dramatically shrunk from its original size. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

When Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad broke his silence following the acceptance by President Mahmoud Abbas of his resignation, the topic he chose to discuss was not overtly political. Using his Facebook page, Salam Fayyad wrote the following words: “I call on all Palestinians to support the Palestinian artistMohammed Assaf, who is deservedly representing Palestine in the second season of ‘Arab Idol.’”

Support of an artist by a politician is not usually the best path to success, but in the Palestinian case, the words from Fayyad were welcomed by Assaf, who is being supported by Palestinians and Arabs in general throughout the made-for-TV competition.

Twenty-three-year-old Assaf was born in Libya in 1989 and moved back to Gaza in 1994, and is now studying public relations at Gaza’s Palestine University. His voice is said to be very close to the late Egyptian sensation Abdel Halim Hafez, an issue that has brought him fame and some controversy. Using parts of the late Egyptian’s name, some have called Assad Hilm Falastine (Palestine’s Dream). Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The state of Israel prides itself on being a democratic state in which all its citizens are treated equally under the law. Yet a closer examination shows the strange and convoluted ways in which laws are used to defend some clearly racist practices.

A case in point is the practice of denying family-reunification permission to Israelis married to Palestinians. International humanitarian law and the basic law in Israel make it difficult for the Interior Ministry to bar an Israeli from demanding the right to live with his or her spouse. Around the world, laws and regulations protect the sanctity of the family and guarantee its members basic rights, including the right to live together and the granting of necessary permits to be able to do that. Continue Reading »