Palestine

Tuesday 7th February

Israel-Palestine negotiations in an election year

Michele Monni, 7 February 2012

All the parties have an apparent interest in pursuing the talks further, although largely to gain political consensus at home.

Friday 3rd February

Tipping the scales within Hamas

Michael Bröning, 3 February 2012

As the Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, undergoes an unprecedented internal power struggle, the time has come for western decision-makers to constructively engage moderate Islamists not only in Tunisia and Egypt, but also in the Palestinian territories

Monday 30th January

The freedom bus

Kacem Jlidi, 30 January 2012

A chance to share stories that underscore the rich Palestinian history of popular resistance and sumud (steadfastness).

Wednesday 25th January

Palestine and the two-state phantom

Ghassan Khatib, 25 January 2012

A combination of political changes and shifts in attitude are making the possibility of a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine increasingly remote, says Ghassan Khatib.

Sunday 15th January

Meet the ‘new’ Hamas: strategic shift or temporary deviation from a violent path?

Benedetta Berti, 15 January 2012

Contrary to the widespread assumption that the recent ‘nonviolent turn’ would be a new and unprecedented development in the evolution of Hamas, the history of the group reveals a constant internal tension along this political-military line

Friday 30th December

Seven reasons for Palestinians in the West Bank to seek real change

Alaa Tartir, 30 December 2011

Acknowledging the complexity of the Palestinian situation, it is surely time for a new revolt against the occupation, for the sake of human dignity and freedom.

Wednesday 14th December

Gaza, the ‘damn table’, and the Arab Spring

Wasseem El Sarraj, 14 December 2011

The wasted years of peace talks have finally sunk in. A decent future lies ahead, but only if the Palestinians can work together on a clear and simple set of timeless goals and tactics: non-violence, Palestinian unity, justice and equal rights, if possible with international law in its corner.

Monday 12th December

The Middle East on the brink: an urgent appeal for common sense

Karabekir Akkoyunlu, 12 December 2011

This is an appeal to the global citizenry to wake up to the dire situation unfolding before our eyes and to raise our voice. It is time to put concerted pressure on our respective governments, who are complicit in this cynical spectacle, and urge them to act responsibly for the benefit of all nations.

Friday 9th December

The Arab revolutions and “sitting on the fence” on Palestine

Muath Al Wari, 9 December 2011

The last twelve months have largely been about Arabs trying to put an end to the denial brought about by a coalition of internal, and more importantly, external forces to Arab agency. Palestine is the constant, tangible, and often lethal manifestation of this narrative.

Thursday 8th December

Gaza: reflections on resilience

Jonathan Chadwick, 8 December 2011

There is a danger in giving an account of the human damage sustained there that an image will be given of Gaza as a society of victims. Gaza is an exceptional social, political and economic space full of extraordinary paradoxes. It is not a bomb-site.

Monday 21st November

Advocating the two state solution: the best bet?

Brigitte Herremans, 21 November 2011

We need to convince our governments and the EU to invest in a political strategy that reverses the destructive dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They need to understand that respect for international law is not a detail, but lies at the very heart of the conflict.

Tuesday 15th November

The Palestinian crossroads

Ghassan Khatib, 15 November 2011

The Palestinians' current political impasse offers them only difficult choices, says Ghassan Khatib.

Sunday 6th November

The two-state solution: where next?

Tony Klug, 6 November 2011

As a series of abstentions, including those of Britain, France, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, leave Palestine with eight confirmed votes in favour of UN recognition – just short of the nine needed to sway the 15-nation UN Security Council – the author argues that there is no win-lose or lose-win scenario in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Friday 21st October

Revolutionary change in the Arab world: what prospects for Palestinians?

Ahmad Samih Khalidi, 21 October 2011

It may be that the era of Palestinian nationalism as it was born, post-1948, is coming to an end. Instead we may be heading in a new direction of unity and common identity across boundaries; 1948, 1967, Diaspora - a form of unity of ‘condition’.

Friday 14th October

Talking with Khalil: the subtle violence of constant occupation

Mariano Aguirre, 14 October 2011

On a journey to the West Bank, the author encounters one small instance of the broader machinery that Israel uses to sustain its occupation of Palestine. The days of battle are over. Now the Palestinians suffer the indignity of daily humiliations, and the slow and quiet effort to snuff out any dream of statehood

Tuesday 27th September

Water shortages hit Gaza under siege

Sameh Habeeb, 27 September 2011

Many Israeli spokespersons maintain that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and that the siege is being lifted. Facts on the ground indicate otherwise. The water crisis is a major continuation of the siege by other means.

Wednesday 21st September

Israel: the cost of arrogance

Khaled Hroub, 21 September 2011

A triple diplomatic challenge to Israel from Turkey, Palestine and Egypt both reflects the region's political transformation and reveals the key flaw in Israel's attitude to its neighbours, says Khaled Hroub.

Palestine's UN bid: lessons from the history of Zionism

James Renton, 21 September 2011

'Historian James Renton suggests that this week's application for UN membership by the Palestinians could provide the moral and legal backing required to achieve the reality of statehood, much as the Balfour Declaration of 1917 laid the ground for the birth of the Israeli state in 1948.

Will the Israelis listen to the clock ticking?

Dana Rubin, 21 September 2011

In this eventful month of September, the Israeli (Arab) spring has to decide: where does it stand, first and foremost, in regard to Palestine, but also in regard to Turkey and Egypt.