Author's Posts
Facing the facts: Israel cannot escape ICC jurisdiction
June 8th, 20190 The chief military advocate general of the Israeli army, Sharon Afek, and the U.S. Department of Defense general counsel, Paul Ney, shared a platform at the “International Conference on the Law of Armed Conflict”, which took place in Herzliya, Israel between May 28-30. Their panel witnessed some of the most misconstrued...
Resurrecting the PLO is Palestine’s best response to the ‘Deal of the Century’
May 31st, 20190 Palestinian groups Fatah, Hamas and others should not confine themselves to simply rejecting the Trump administration's so-called “Deal of the Century.” Instead, they should use their resistance to the new American-Israeli plot as an opportunity to unify their ranks. Leaked details of the “Deal of the Century” confirm...
The two narratives of Palestine: The people are united, the factions are not
May 20th, 20190 The International Conference on Palestine held in Istanbul between April 27-29 brought together many speakers and hundreds of academics, journalists, activists and students from Turkey and all over the world. The conference was a rare opportunity aimed at articulating a discourse of international solidarity that is both inclusive and...
Israel’s common denominator: Why Israel will continue to bomb Gaza
May 20th, 20190 On May 4, Israel launched a series of deadly airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip, prompting a response from various resistance groups. At least 25 Palestinians were killed and nearly 200 people wounded in the Israeli attacks. Four Israelis were also killed by Palestinian rockets. The clashes were instigated by Israel, when the...
France and the EU, recognizing yet supporting apartheid reality in Palestine
May 3rd, 20190 A recent statement made by the outgoing French ambassador to the U.S. regarding the nature of Israeli apartheid accentuates a larger ailment that has afflicted the European Union foreign policy. The EU is simply gutless when it comes to confronting Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. Ambassador Gerard Araud was, of course,...
Notre Dame of Gaza: Our mosques and churches are also burning
April 26th, 20190 As the 300-foot spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris tragically came tumbling down on live television, my thoughts ventured to Nuseirat Refugee Camp, my childhood home in the Gaza Strip. Then, also on television, I watched as a small bulldozer hopelessly clawed through the rubble of my neighborhood mosque. I grew up around that...
War versus peace: Israel has decided and so should we
April 19th, 20190 So, what have we learned from the Israeli legislative elections on April 9? A whole lot. To start with, don’t let such references as the “tight race” between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his main rival, Benny Gantz, fool you. Yes, Israelis are divided on some issues that are particular to...
The unfinished Gaza war: What Netanyahu hopes to gain from attacking Palestinian prisoners
April 12th, 20190 The current violence targeting Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails dates back to January 2. It was then that Israel’s public security minister, Gilad Erdan, declared that the “party is over.” “Every so often, infuriating pictures appear of cooking in the terrorist wings. This party is coming to an end,” Erdan was quoted in...
On my visit to New Zealand: Can Christchurch heal our collective wounds?
April 2nd, 20190 I visited the city of Christchurch on May 23, 2018, as part of a larger speaking tour in New Zealand that also took me to Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Dunedin. New Zealand is an exceptional country, different from other countries that are often lumped under the generalized designation of the “Western world.” Almost immediately...
Why the outrage? “Jewish Power” Party is the new norm in Israeli politics
March 9th, 20190 Immediately after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forged an alliance with the fringe political group Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), a widespread outrage ensued. The anger did not emanate only from the Center, Left and Arab parties, but from some in the Right as well. Even the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S., known for its hawkish...
Gaza rallies for Caracas: On the West’s dangerous game in Venezuela
February 16th, 20190 Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of besieged Gaza to show their support for the democratically-elected government of Venezuela and its legitimate leader, President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela is struggling to defeat a coup attempt that is supported by the United States, Israel and many Western governments. The...
Enough Western meddling and interventions: Let the Venezuelan people decide
February 15th, 20190 American politicians from the two main parties have finally found something to agree upon: More intervention in Venezuela. “Now, despite (President Nicolas) Maduro, there is hope (in Venezuela),” wrote Democratic Senator Dick Durbin in USA Today. “These events (meaning the current political instability in the country) are a...
Now Chad, then Mali: Why African countries are normalizing with Israel
February 4th, 20190 Forget the hype. Israel’s “security technology” has nothing to do with why some African countries are eager to normalize relations with Israel. What is it that Israel is able to offer in the technology sector to Chad, Mali and others that the United States, the European Union, China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa and...
False ‘victories’: Is the PA using the ‘State of Palestine’ to remain in power?
January 26th, 20190 The "State of Palestine" has officially been handed the chairmanship of the G-77, the United Nations' largest block. This is particularly significant considering the relentless Israeli-American plotting to torpedo the Palestinian push for greater international recognition and legitimacy. It is now conclusive that the main mission for...
The moral travesty of Israel seeking Arab, Iranian money for its alleged Nakba
January 18th, 20190 The game is afoot. Israel, believe it or not, is demanding that seven Arab countries and Iran pay $250 billion as compensation for what it claims was the forceful exodus of Jews from Arab countries during the late 1940s. The events that Israel is citing allegedly occurred at a time when Zionist Jewish militias were actively uprooting......
The U.N. ‘sheriff’: Nikki Haley elevated Israel, damaged U.S. standing
October 22nd, 20180 The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, has made her post a “more glamorous” position than her predecessors — as President Trump described Haley’s 2-year term at the U.N., following her resignation announcement. We may never know the nature of Haley’s purported “glamour” at the U.N., but we certainly know that,...
That single line of blood: Nassir al-Mosabeh and Mohammed al-Durrah
October 16th, 20180 As the frail body of 12-year-old Nassir Al-Mosabeh fell to the ground on Friday, September 28, history was repeating itself in a most tragic way. Little Nassir was not just another number, a “martyr” to be exalted by equally poor refugees in Gaza, or vilified by Israel and its tireless hasbara machine. He was much more than......
End of hegemony: U.N. must reflect changing world order
October 7th, 20180 There is a rational explanation of why India and Brazil, two countries with vast populations and large and growing economies, are not permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC). The Council — made up of five permanent and 10 rotating members — was designed to reflect a world order that was birthed from the horrific...
Why Israel demolishes: Khan Al-Ahmar as representation of greater genocide
September 24th, 20180 Like vultures, Israeli soldiers descended on Khan Al-Ahmar, on Sept. 14, recreating a menacing scene with which the residents of this small Palestinian village, located East of Jerusalem, are all-too familiar. The strategic location of Khan Al-Ahmar makes the story behind the imminent Israeli demolition of the peaceful village unique...
The veiled danger of the ‘dead’ Oslo Accords
September 17th, 20180 Yossi Beilin is back. This unrepentant Israeli “peacemaker” is like the mythical phoenix, constantly resurrecting from its own ashes. In a recent article in Al-Monitor, Beilin wrote in support of the idea of a confederation between Israel and Palestine. A confederation "could prevent the need to evacuate settlers and allow those...
What lies beneath: The U.S.-Israeli plot to ‘save’ Gaza
September 10th, 20180 The Israeli government wants to change the rules of the game entirely. With unconditional support from the Trump administration, Tel Aviv sees a golden opportunity to redefine what has, for decades, constituted the legal and political foundation for the so-called "Palestinian-Israeli conflict." While President Trump’s foreign policy......
When illness is a ‘death sentence’: The victimization of Gaza women
September 1st, 20180 Hanan al-Khoudari, a Gaza resident, resorted to Facebook in a cry for help when Israeli authorities rejected her request to accompany her 3-year-old son, Louay, to his chemotherapy treatment in East Jerusalem. The boy is suffering from an “aggressive soft tissue sarcoma.” Israeli authorities then justified their decision based on...Gaza without cancer medicine as Haley blames Arabs for Washington’s sins
August 26th, 20180 On Sunday August 12, news from Gaza was distressing: The Ministry of Health announced that it would no longer be able to treat cancer patients in the Israel-besieged Strip. "Colon and lung cancer, as well as lymphoma patients, cannot be provided with the necessary therapy now," said Dr. Mohammed Abu Silmiya, director of Abdulaziz......
Mission accomplished: Why solidarity boats to Gaza succeed despite failing to break the siege
August 18th, 20180 When Mike Treen, the national director of the "Unite Union" in New Zealand arrived at the airport in the capital, Auckland, on August 1, a group of people were anxiously waiting for him at the terminal with Palestinian flags and flowers. They hugged him, chanted for Palestinian freedom and performed the customary native Haka...
Mahmoud Abbas: Stop exploiting Ahed Tamimi for personal gain
August 13th, 20180 The father of 11-year-old Abdul Rahman Nofal contacted me, asking for help. His son was shot in the leg during Gaza's "Great March of Return" protests. The Strip's dilapidated health care system could not save the little boy's leg, as it was later amputated. His father, Yamen, himself a young man from the Buraij Refugee Camp in......
