Oraib Rantawi is the founder and director general of the Amman-based Al Quds Center for Political Studies and an established writer and columnist. He has authored and edited several strategic studies and organized and participated in seminars and conferences in Jordan and internationally. He is also a frequent commentator and analyst on television and has produced his own show “Qadaya wa Ahdath” (Issues and Events.)
From this author
Normalization relations between Israel and the Arab countries have become clearer and more acceptable than ever before. How has normalization changed over the decades, and what does it look like today? In the upcoming Policy Lab, Al-Shabaka analysts Dana Al-Kurd and Oraib Al-Rantawi will join host Nour Arafa to discuss the stages of development of normalization and its repercussions on the Palestinian struggle and on the citizens of normalizing countries.
Though US President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century” largely does not change conditions on the ground for Palestinians, it helps legitimize the Israeli colonial project, which continues apace despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Al-Shabaka analysts from around the globe weigh in on the repercussions of the deal where they live and offer steps to counter them.
Several recent incidents underscore the cooling in Jordanian-Israeli relations 25 years after the two signed the Wadi ‘Araba peace agreement. Israel’s imprisonment without charge of two Jordanian nationals of Palestinian origin during the summer led to Jordan’s withdrawal of its ambassador “for consultations” until their release last month after repeated protests.
The Arab uprisings have created a unique opportunity for Palestinian-origin Jordanians to address head-on the hitherto taboo topic of the increasingly dire situation faced by the millions-strong community in Jordan. Since March 2011, several new activist groups (Herakat), including some Palestinian origin-Jordanians who were or still are in positions of power, have been calling for equal rights for all Jordanian citizens and insisting that Palestinian origin should not deprive Jordanian citizens of their rights in and obligations to their country, Jordan.
The invitation by the Palestinian community in Germany to speak at their events on the solemn occasion of Land Day (March 30) was, at a personal level, filled with significance and emotion. Prior to the event, I had had many questions about the extent to which this – and by extension other – exiled community was concerned about and engaged with the Palestinian cause.
