An Irrelevant House?
Some members of the United States House of Representatives may not know too much about international affairs, but they certainly know what they don’t like: a Palestinian state that is not fully supported and endorsed by Israel in direct negotiations.
The Devil’s in the Discourse
Three aspects of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Saban Center speech on Friday have escaped general notice. First, though she spoke boldly of asking "tough questions and expecting substantive answers" on the core issues of the conflict, the process will not culminate in a "just, lasting and comprehensive peace" as Clinton claimed, but rather a framework agreement. What is a framework agreement?
The Return of Plan “B” and the Death of the Peace Process
Last week marked a low point in the Obama administration's attempts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Following the administration's announcement that it was ending efforts to secure a 90-day extension of Israel's limited moratorium on settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton introduced "Plan B" for resolving the conflict.
Israel’s Katrina
As Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the misplaced priorities of the George W. Bush administration, the Carmel fire has similarly exposed the reality of Israel's domestic and foreign policy priorities.
Defending Palestinian Solidarity
The Electronic Intifada, the online publication about Palestine that I co-founded in 2001, finds itself at the centre of a storm as a pro-Israel group applies pressure to have a grant from a Dutch foundation withdrawn.
This assault on our freedom of conscience is about much more than our website. It is part of a well-coordinated, escalating Israeli government-endorsed effort to vilify individuals and cripple organisations that criticise Israel's human rights record and call for it to respect Palestinian rights and international law.
The ‘Peace Process’ won’t go away
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu barely had time to enjoy the way the WikiLeaks revelations seemed to bolster his case for an attack on Iran when a catastrophic fire raged through northern Israel. Both events swept talk of peace talks off the front pages, buying Netanyahu more time to deal with the US push for the resumption of direct negotiations. That push continues even though some reports claim Israel turned down the incentives the US offered for a three-month settlement moratorium intended to entice the Palestinian Authority (PA) to come back to the table.
Palestine at the UN: An Alternative Strategy
As Israeli-Palestinian negotiations lurch from crisis to crisis, Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders have been suggesting they may go to the United Nations to seek resolutions confirming the illegality of Israel’s settlements in the occupied territories and recognizing a reality of Palestinian statehood.
The Oslo Virus and the Struggle for Bantustans
In 'The Music of the Violin,' a short story by South African writer Njabulo Ndebele, one of the characters comments on the 'concessions' made by the apartheid regime to the indigenous people: "That's how it is planned. That we be given a little of everything, and so prize the little we have that we forget about freedom."
Tough Questions for Hamas
Hamas's victory in the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council elections surprised everyone, including its own members and leaders. Many local and international activists were also relieved, as the victory was a blow to the Bush doctrine in the Middle East. It was also a test of the credibility of the liberal democratic approach and its applications in the region.
