By Daoud Kuttab

After the signing of a breakthrough agreement between the world community and Iran, the question on Palestinian lips now is how this affects the Palestinian cause and specifically the current Palestinian-Israeli talks. On the surface, the questions seem strange as there is no direct relationship between the Iranian nuclear file and the Palestinian issue. But in reality the signing of the agreement, especially in light of Israel’s public opposition to it, puts Israel’s relationship with its biggest ally, the United States, in a difficult situation.

Washington’s apparent unwillingness to take Israel’s public opposition to the Iran deal into consideration puts a major question mark on future relations between the United States and Israel.

Israel’s criticism of the White House could go in at least two opposing directions. The United States can use the success of this unprecedented international consensus and move in a more aggressive direction to press Israel to make serious concession in the peace talks. It might also be more willing to put forward new ideas for solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Continue Reading »

Following appeared in the Jordan Times

By Daoud Kuttab

On the surface, it is hard to see any direct link between the recently concluded deal by Iran and the P5+1 group and the Palstinian-Israeli peace talks. If, as the world community believes, this deal makes the world safer, then it should speed up, rather than slowdown, the resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

But the reality is different.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made the Iran issue such a big part of his foreign policy rhetoric that losing it will potentially be felt on other fronts.

The effect of the Iran deal on the peace process is bound to be more psychological than any other. The Israelis claim that they were backstabbed by their American allies and therefore the trust factor between Tel Aviv and Washington is at an all-time low. Israeli leaders did not try to publicly water down their anger at the White House who they say has approved a “historic mistake”.

The irony is that the Israeli anger with the US should normally lead to an equal reaction from America, which would potentially make Israel lose its strongest ally in the region.

A neutral US vis-à-vis the Israel-Palestine conflict would be a huge bonanza for Palestinians.

However, the problem is that when Israel gets angry with the US, America starts looking for ways to please its spoiled child rather than simply ignore it. Israel will clearly not pay a political price for its public criticism of the US, nor will the Americans lessen their total, unflinching support for Israel. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

George Kanawati has become a well-known name in the Bethlehem area. The popularity of the director of the city’s longest-running radio station and anchor of its popular morning show is not simply from his journalistic work. Radio Bethlehem 2000’s top journalist has been embroiled in quite a few battles with various governmental agencies, the latest of which landed him in prison and gave him a black eye.

While the Israeli restriction on Palestinian movement for journalists continues without any sign of easing, the main challenge for Palestinian journalists has become more local. Palestinian officials appear to be less tolerant to criticism and seem to be acting with impunity despite strong opposition by the Palestinian Journalists Union and human rights organizations.

Kanawati’s case has been going on for some time and the tit for tat between him and various government officials is being dealt with in the courts. But the latest episode between Kanawati and the director of the Bethlehem police appears to have taken a different route. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The bustling town of al-Ram, with a population of over 25,000, is strategically located between Jerusalem and Ramallah. For a long time, the town’s geography was its blessing. Today, it has become its curse.

Al-Ram’s main entrance was once the Jerusalem-Ramallah road just past the suburbs of Shufat, Beit Hanina and Dahiyat al-Barid. But then the wall was built, dividing half of Dahiyat al-Barid and placing the entire town of al-Ram on the other side of the wall away from its normal access from either side of the Jerusalem-Ramallah road. All shops, including the recently opened branch of the Arab Bank, that were once on the main road suddenly found themselves facing a 10-meter-high wall with no access to either Jerusalem or Ramallah. To get to the two main cities, one must now exit the rear of the town, which is the most poorly maintained, least properly zoned part.

The population of al-Ram, made up almost entirely of east Jerusalemites with Israeli blue ID cards and yellow licensed Israeli car plates, suddenly found themselves surrounded and isolated. Residents must now take the long way to get to school, work or any other location that used to take minutes to reach. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

France has always been a country that cares first and foremost about itself, which is normal, but sometimes it is so calculating that it comes across as not caring and spineless.
France is a huge economic exporter to the Arab world. Its wheat and military exports to Saudi Arabia and the Arab world are literally in the billions of euros.
At the same time, France is a founding member of the European Union, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a strong member of any Western alliance of which the US is the leader. This means that Paris has to balance its interests with the Arab world with its role in the Western alliance.
A month ago, France was eager to attack Syria for its use of chemical weapons, only to see America suddenly back off as a result of an agreement with Russia.
In the Middle East conflict, the French have been slightly leaning in favor of the Arab position while maintaining its good relations with both Israel and the US. For years, Arab leaders and ideologues have romanticized France’s role as the savior of Palestinians and the Arab world, only to be regularly disappointed when nothing happened.
France’s political calculation and attempts to be seen as neutral sometimes come close to being absurd. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

For years, France has been a source of fascination for Palestinians and Arabs for its courage to take positions that run contrary to those of many in Europe and the United States. Palestinians still vividly remember the 1996 visit by former French President Jacques Chirac, when Israeli soldiers insisted on accompanying him to one of Islam’s holiest mosques — Al-Aqsa — as a way of declaring Israeli sovereignty over it. At the time, Chirac uncharacteristically screamed in English at Israeli security: “This is a provocation. Do you want me to get on my plane and go back to France?”

Much has changed since then, including the election of Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, who have not shown similar courage in their support for Palestinian rights. Israeli officials have repeatedly praised Israel’s relations with France, despite France’s vote at the UN in favor of Palestinian statehood in 2012. Even the physical manhandling of a French diplomat in September failed to shake up this unusual bond that has formed between France and Israel.

This Israeli love fest was put on display this week during the state visit by Hollande, who was given the special privilege of addressing the Israeli Knesset. The red-carpet treatment given to the French president was due in large part to his staunch refusal to sign on to the US-led compromise on the Iranian nuclear agreement. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Once again, the fate of Gaza is gaining importance as the failure of Palestinian reconciliation, coupled with the deep rift between Hamas and the new Egyptian rulers, is being felt by every Palestinian in the Gaza Strip. The high-profile military parade by Islamists in Gaza on Nov. 14 shows that Hamas continues to be strong, despite not having been able to pay salaries to its employees for the past three months. The parade was held on the first anniversary of the war on Gaza, which had ended in a cease-fire worked out by then-Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Israeli fighter jets struck inside Gaza on Nov. 14 claiming that their attack was aimed at two locations from where rockets against Israel were launched. Islamic Jihad is said to be responsible for the attacked site, but no injuries or fatalities were reported.

The parade and clashes reflect both acts of strength and confidence and acts of desperation because of the dire economic situation facing Hamas. The Gaza government of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has not shown any serious signs of weakening. Al-Monitorsources in Gaza insist that the Islamist movement is still strong, despite its recent regional losses in Syria and Egypt. Continue Reading »

B y Daoud Kuttab

Ever since the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks began this summer, Palestinian negotiators have found themselves without one of their strongest negotiating weapons: the ability to walk out of the talks.

The current peace talks began without the Israelis agreeing on two basic conditions: the suspension of settlement building in Palestinian areas and a clear reference point for the talks. While these conditions were not directly accepted by Israel, the United States guaranteed that the 1967 borders would be the basic reference point of the border discussions. On the settlements, the Palestinians were assured by the United States that Israel would not build any outside the settlement blocks that Israelis hope would be annexed to Israel.

On both these issues, Israel appears to have reneged and the Palestinian side was put in a corner. If the Palestinians walk out of the talks for this violation of the understanding communicated by the United States, the Israelis would stop the process of staggered prisoner releases. Israel has committed to releasing 104 Palestinians imprisoned since before the 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords in accordance with the 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh agreement. Continue Reading »

Following appeared in today’s Jordan Times

By Daoud Kuttab

The never-ending search for an appropriate democratic model in Jordan continues without any result.

Popular protests sped up the debate while the current retraction of protests appears to have delayed this process.

Nothing appears to have stunted participatory democracy more than the current status of Jordanian municipalities.

The topic of decentralisation has been talked about for some time, but has been almost forgotten.

A conference on participatory democracy organised by the French Cultural Centre in cooperation with Al Rai Studies Centre opened in Amman on Wednesday.

The audience consisted of mayors of major Jordanian cities; strangely, governmental officials were absent despite the fact that they were invited, as the badges were showing.

Had officials from the interior or municipal affairs ministries come, they would have received an earful of harsh complaints about the unhealthy status of Jordan’s municipalities.

One after the other, mayors complained that they are unable to carry out their jobs independently and serve the population that elected them because of the ever-present “big brother”, in the form of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Allies don’t usually criticize each other in public. But this is exactly what happened between Israel and the United States.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly attacked each other regarding the two issues that the United States has said are its top foreign policy priorities in the region: Iran and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Kerry spoke about US and world frustration with Israel during a rare joint interview with Israeli and Palestinian reporters. Kerry attacked Israel’s lack of seriousness in the negotiations, warning Israelis about complacency during this temporary quiet on the Palestinian front. He defended Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a nonviolent leader and told Israelis that if they don’t deal with him, they will end up with a violent leader and a possible third intifada. But Kerry’s harshest criticism was over settlements, which, echoing President Barack Obama, he called “illegitimate.” Kerry questioned the wisdom of building settlements on lands that will become a Palestinian state and rejected the idea of new settlements in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, saying that the prisoner release is to keep Palestinians from going to the United Nations.

The verbal attack was labeled a “scolding” by international media and appears to have stunned Israelis. Instead of reacting to it, however, Netanyahu responded angrily to rumors of a possible deal with Iran. Netanyahu repeatedly called what he perceived as being offered to Iran as the worst deal for the world and best one for Iran. Continue Reading »