By Daoud Kuttab

No sooner had Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas signed letters of accession to 15 international treaties than Israel began spinning various myths to explain how this came to be. Israeli officials and commentators were in shock while trying to justify how their Palestinian partner could do something without Israel’s prior approval. Abbas appears to have caught the Israelis off guard by signing documents that allow Palestine to join UN bodies and treaties to regulate the rights of a state under occupation, the workings of diplomats and the conventions protecting the rights of women and children.

Few remember that the issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners was an idea introduced late in the process of resuming peace talks. The original idea was that Israel agree to a framework for negotiations and suspend settlement activities. Israel refused, however, to accept that the aim of the talks was to reach a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. This led to a search for a side, confidence-building agreement. To get past this deadlock, a quid pro quo was suggested: 104 Palestinians imprisoned since before the Oslo Accords — and whose release had already been agreed to in the 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum — would be released in return for the Palestinian leadership suspending following up on Palestine’s recognition at the United Nations as a non-member observer state and ascending to various international bodies and treaties. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

“Brother Murad, I want to say something to my brother in jail,” says a female voice.

“My dear brother Sameh, I’m sorry no one was able to come to see you. The Israelis didn’t give your brothers permission. I was supposed to see you today, but the Israelis turned me back at the Howara checkpoint. Don’t worry, I have already booked with the Red Cross for the next visit on April 8. Hope to see you then. Take care of yourself. My greetings to your friends, the heroes Ahmad, Ali and Louay and all of the brave men of Palestine. The chains will one day be shattered. Keep your heads up.”

“This is Um Qusai. I am the mother of the prisoner Ahmad Ali, and I want to wish him greetings on behalf of our entire family. We heard from our friends who visited Ofer prison that you were not feeling well. I hope you are better now. I want to tell you the latest on the wedding plans for Nisreen. We have booked a wedding hall for next Saturday for your sister’s wedding. Your brother Numan in Germany will not be able to come, but we expect a happy occasion.”

“Hello Abu Ahmad, this is Qassem. I want to send my greetings to my sister Ala’a and all the heroic Palestinian prisoners held in Hasharon prison. We are fine. Your sister just returned from Amman and she sends her greetings. Her son got a scholarship to study medicine at Jordan University.” Continue Reading »

Following appeared in the Jordan Times

By Daoud Kuttab

Modern technological development has brought with it the term multitasking, a term that replaced the popular “Can you chew and walk at the same time”.

Palestinian negotiators are now facing the tough challenge of applying to join various UN agencies while, at the same time, agreeing, in theory, to continue peace talks until the end of April.

The action was publicly demonstrated by President Mahmoud Abbas who signed, on Tuesday, a document allowing the state of Palestine to join 15 different UN agencies.

Until recently, it was believed that Palestinians had to choose between joining international agencies and participating in the negotiations.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had extracted a commitment from Palestinians to refrain from such actions in return for Israel’s release of 104 Palestinian prisoners who have spent more than 20 years in Israeli jails.

The release of those prisoners, held since before the start of the Oslo peace process, was agreed to during the Sharm El Sheikh agreement signed in September 1999. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

It is not clear whether it was by design or by accident that there is a one-month period between the scheduled date of the fourth Palestinian prisoner release by Israel and the end of the nine-month Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Regardless, Palestinians recognized that the month of April provided them with a unique opportunity to be unshackled from the commitments they made not to join UN agencies before the end of the peace talk timetable.

After the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signaled its approval in a unanimous vote, PLO Chairman and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed documents to join UN agencies in a public ceremony at the Muqata in Ramallah. When completed, the process will prepare the groundwork for a possible Palestinian international lawsuit against the ongoing Israeli occupation and colonization of the lands of the state of Palestine. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The delay of the release of the fourth tranche of Palestinian prisoners and Israel’s bait that it will do so only if the Palestinians agree to extend the talks has failed to get a bite from Palestinian negotiators.

The fact that the Palestinians agreed to make a deal for their release, again, was an act of benevolence and a show of good faith to get the talks started. The idea that the last batch of prisoners be divided between those who have Israeli citizenship or residency and those whose residency is directly connected to the Palestinian government is also unacceptable to Palestinian leaders.

To break the logjam, Israel and the United States are trying new ideas, such as adding more prisoners to be released to the remaining 26 prisoners in return for an agreement by the Palestinian leadership to extend the talks a further six months. Again, the Palestinians are stubbornly opposing any change or compromise on an agreement already made. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Modern technological development has brought with it the term multitasking, a term that replaced the popular “Can you chew and walk at the same time.”

Palestinian negotiators are now facing the tough challenge of applying to join various UN agencies while, at the same time, agreeing, to continue peace talks until the end of April.

The action was publicly demonstrated by President Mahmoud Abbas who signed, on Tuesday, a document allowing the state of Palestine to join 15 different internationaltreaties.

Until recently, it was believed that Palestinians had to choose between joining international agencies or participating in the negotiations.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had extracted a commitment from Palestinians to refrain from such actions in return for Israel’s release of 104 Palestinian prisonerswho have spent more than 20 years in Israeli jails.

The release of those prisoners, held since before the start of the Oslo peace process, was agreed to during the Sharm El Sheikh agreement signed in September 1999.

Instead of releasing all the prisoners at one time, the Israelis decided on four stages, the last of which was due to take place at the end of March. However, Israel chose not to release of the final batch, insisting that they be released only if Palestinians agree to extend the talks that are due to conclude at the end of April.

Various efforts to make symbolic offers, such as releasing prisoners who have one month left to their term, to convince Palestinian negotiators have failed to change their mind, as they insisted on Israel to deliver as per the agreement. Continue Reading »