Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Adnan Abu Amer
-
The Palestinians and Arabs await the new Israeli government with interest
The Israeli election result makes it possible to look at the regional positions taken in response to the apparent gains of the Blue and White Party, and the fall in support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. While Hamas does not seem keen on the victory of the former, led by...
-
Israel observes Egypt protests fearful for Sisi
The recent Egyptian protests have attracted the attention of the Israeli decision-making circles, both media and political, although Israeli officials – political, military and security – have declined to officially comment on the events in an effort not to embarrass their ally in the Ittihadiya Palace. However, this does...
-
The results of Israel’s election hinder the formation of a government
With the emergence of most of the results of the Israeli elections, a series of potential scenarios for the formation of a new government have emerged. It is important to know the final results of the elections, after counting over 90 per cent of the votes before talking about how...
-
Palestinian developments are straining Turkey-Israel relations
Recent weeks have witnessed a series of developments in Palestine that have produced mixed reactions in Turkey and Israel. Their relationship is back to the level of tension prevalent in the wake of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2010. The most recent development was the announcement...
-
Netanyahu’s proposed annexation of the Jordan Valley reveals its strategic importance
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he will impose Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, specifically the Jordan Valley, if he is returned to office after next week’s General Election. In doing so, he has revealed the strategic importance of the Jordan Valley. The annexation...
-
Israel is still planning to displace even more Palestinians
Since the 1948 Nakba when Israel was created in the historic land of Palestine, which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homeland, successive Israeli governments have continued to propose political and demographic plans for the displacement of more Palestinians from the West Bank,...
-
Israel's threats to assassinate Hamas leaders will not make it more secure
Over the past few days, Israeli leaders have issued assassination threats to Hamas leaders, following the ongoing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip towards southern Israeli settlements. This has coincided with the heated and tense Israeli General Election campaign, with the threats making headlines. Are Israel’s threats against Hamas leaders...
-
The return of the IED to the occupied West Bank
After many years, the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) has returned to the occupied West Bank. This is despite all of the efforts made by the Israeli and Palestinian security agencies cooperating to thwart any armed Palestinian group that would use such weapons. The Dolev settlement operation, near Ramallah,...
-
Encouraging Hamas to stop its secret operations
In recent months, Hamas has held a number of public political conferences in which it discussed its future, its internal and external developments, and its political and military relations. These conferences were attended by a number of its leader in Gaza, while many of its leaders abroad gave speeches...
-
Corruption: The latest US pretext to liquidate UNRWA
In recent days, the Palestinian community has been preoccupied with reports of corruption cases involving senior UNRWA officials, particularly following the resignation of the deputy commissioner-general. This coincided with American and Israeli calls to dismantle UNRWA and cut off funding to it as a prelude to the announcement of...
-
Israel projects aim to export the Gaza problem to Egypt’s Sinai
There has been an increase recently in Israeli projects seeking solutions to what it calls the “Gaza problem”. They have been focusing on Egypt’s Sinai, and appear to be foreshadowing a potential population transfer of Palestinians to the Sinai peninsula. Such a move would relieve Israel from the security...
-
Palestinian security services continue to cooperate with their American counterparts
Despite the American-Palestinian estrangement since December 2017, leading to the imposition of American sanctions on the PA, this did not stop the two parties from holding meetings both in secret and in public. This contradiction raises several question marks regarding the seriousness of this estrangement. In early July, Saeb Erekat,...
-
A meeting between Israel’s army chief and a Palestinian millionaire reflects the PA’s loss of control
Official Palestinian-Israeli relations have been put on hold since 2014, but this didn’t stop Israel’s Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, from having a secret meeting with Palestinian millionaire Bashar Al-Masri in May. The two met in Ramallah and discussed the economic conditions in the occupied West...
-
The PLO Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society normalises links under official cover
While political relations between Palestine and Israel have officially been non-existent since the cessation of negotiations in April 2014, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas continues to hold periodic meetings with various Israeli officials and bodies. These meetings have provoked astonishment and anger among the Palestinians because Abbas holds many...
-
PA corruption and score-settling mars preparation for post-Abbas era
Since late May, the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) have witnessed a sudden emergence of corruption scandals in the Palestinian Authority (PA), including the disclosure of serious issues related to waste of public funds, abuse of power, money laundering and earning profits from public services. While international onlookers have demanded an...
-
The PA threat to disband security personnel is just hot air
The Palestinian Authority’s latest financial crisis began in February after the Israeli government cut part of the tax money owed to its treasury, amounting to $140 million. The consequences of this have spread to various parts of the PA, including its ministries, municipalities and governorates. Now a number of senior...
-
Protests by Ethiopian Jews bring Israel closer to fragmentation
Israel has been in chaos since last month, when an Israeli police officer killed a young Ethiopian Jew in Haifa, suspecting that the young man and his companions had thrown stones at him. The incident sparked anger within the Ethiopian community, which insists that the police shoot its members...
-
Palestinians divided over conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack on Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia, describing the aggression as a criminal and dangerous offence against Saudi Arabia. The Palestinian foreign ministry endorsed Abbas’ stance and renewed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia against the Houthi terrorist attack. Hamas, meanwhile, remained silent...
-
Hamas considers Malaysia its gateway to Asia
In recent months, Malaysia has witnessed a series of successive visits by high-ranking delegations from Hamas, indicating the growing ties between these two parties at a time when the movement is facing a tight political siege by many Arab countries. Hamas’ most recent visit to Malaysia late last month came...
-
Hamas and Morsi’s death
Hamas is fated to suffer every now and then from the dictatorship of geography that links it to its southern neighbour, Egypt. This forces means it pays the price dearly for every event or incident occurring in Egypt, good or bad. Hamas expressed its joy at the victory of President...
-
Israel's increasing concern about Hamas' growing naval capabilities
Israeli circles have demanded that a large-scale military naval operation be carried out in Gaza to respond to the growing military capabilities of Hamas, provided that it would surprise Hamas and exploit the soft belly of Gaza, specifically the western side of Gaza’s coast on the Mediterranean Sea. I will...
-
Saudi Arabia’s opening of jobs to Palestinians from Israel is a cynical political move
Saudi Arabia has announced that Palestinian citizens of Israel are going to be allowed to work in the Kingdom. Such an arrangement will require coordination between Riyadh and Tel Aviv which, in turn, means even further normalisation between the two countries. Israel’s economic magazine Globes broke this story late last...
-
Israel and the PA continue to drain Hamas’ financial sources
Israel has revealed that in recent years there has been an increase in funds confiscated from Hamas members in the West Bank. These funds come from Gaza and abroad and are used to support those carrying out armed operation and attacks, the families of prisoners, and towards establishing infrastructure...
-
Military-media: Hamas against Israel
In the latest round of Israeli aggression on Gaza in early May, the Palestinian resistance factions, specifically Hamas, relied more on its media and propaganda system. They took video footage of their armed operations and produced short films, using inflammatory language directed at the Palestinians to make them more...