Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Daud Abdullah
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Today it’s the Golan Heights, tomorrow it will be Medina
Israelis believe they have never had it this good. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regularly brags about it. He claims that apart from a few non-conformists, most Arab countries have secretly normalised relations with Israel. Despite their public statements, they have, to all intents and purposes, abandoned the Palestinian cause. But...
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Open letter to President Mahmoud Abbas
Dear President Abbas You have every right to withdraw recognition Let me begin by offering my warmest greetings on the occasion of the blessed month of Ramadan and to wish you continued good health. The events of the last few days have presented you with a rare opportunity, one that may...
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Al Jazeera investigates: Islamophobia incorporated
Al Jazeera’s Investigations Unit has exposed the breath-taking speed with which Islamophobia is spreading in American society...
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Intervention in the Middle East is always about national interests, not human suffering
Shortly after the missile attack on Syria, US Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump bragged in his usual pompous way that it was “mission accomplished”. In Britain, there was no such display of hubris. Prime Minister Theresa May was, instead, forced to explain to parliament why she ordered the attack without consulting...
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Free at last: A UN without US diplomatic blackmail
Not for the first time, the free world has stood up for truth and justice in Palestine. The General Assembly’s vote against President Trump’s decision on Jerusalem was a victory for the rule of law over the law of the jungle. It now leaves both the US and Israel...
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Kurdish independence will see Iraq disintegrate; it’s Israel’s dream scenario
With the Kurdish referendum to separate from Iraq done and dusted, Israel’s ambitions in that country are all but complete. For many years, Israeli strategists and politicians alike have made no secret of their ambition to bring about the dissolution of the Arab states; Iraq, unfortunately, has been a...
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Israel should back-off; Africa does not need a modern colonial master
The Twittersphere went into overdrive immediately after the cancellation of the controversial African-Israeli summit. “When you are on an Apartheid selling roadshow Africans don’t buy it,” tweeted the South African Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. In doing so, the South Africans had actually spoken for the whole continent. Having...
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Education is a right being denied to Palestinian children, and Israel is the culprit
Do you remember that sense of excitement on your first day back at school? The delight of being promoted to a new class, the joy of meeting friends old and new, and reconnecting with teachers? They were all part of the experience that made, for most people, primary and...
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Israel’s worthless price tag for the Aqsa uprising
After the humiliating setback at Al-Aqsa Mosque, it was inevitable that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would retaliate. His move has come sooner than expected with the detention of Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic movement in Israel, along with heightened repression of Israel’s Palestinian citizens. In the...
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Rabaa set a precedent. Even massacres in Rwanda, Sudan and Kenya were not against their own people
In August 2013, Egyptian forces killed more than a 1000 protesters during a sit-in at Cairo’s Rabaa square...
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Kushner's comments about peace present the Palestinians with a way out of the current shambles
Media leaks from within the White House are nothing new; all US administrations have had to deal with them. In the case of the Trump presidency, however, the shadowy practice has risen to an alarming level. Every new leak leaves the president looking more and more like an emperor...
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If Al-Aqsa is to be protected long-term, Israel’s occupation must end
Palestinian resistance against Israel’s brutal occupation is littered with many setbacks. The latest confrontation over Al Aqsa Mosque was, however, a rare example of success. Israel’s fifty-year efforts to change the status quo in the Noble Sanctuary were dealt a major blow last week, one that highlighted several important...
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Al-Aqsa has been abandoned by those who profess the leadership of the Muslim world
Unrest engulfs Al-Aqsa Mosque after Israel closed it for prayer ...
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As Arab states revel in their links with Israel, the Palestinians remain indomitable
Throughout the ten year Israeli-led blockade of the Gaza Strip only one Arab head of state has visited the territory. In October 2012, the then Emir of Qatar, Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, went to Gaza to see for himself the devastation caused by Israel’s military offensives. Since then,...
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Hamas outlines its vision for Palestine in the 21st century
One hundred years of oppression have not diminished or erased the Palestinian hope for freedom. Throughout this year, 2017, they are marking the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which started their tragedy. The occasion is about the past, as well as the future. And, it is in this...
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PA President Mahmoud Abbas needs to decide which side he’s on
It is perfectly normal for Palestinians to have political differences with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), but it is wholly unacceptable for any Palestinian, official or otherwise, to call for the destruction and burning of the Gaza Strip in order to crush the group. Such threats are manifestly shameful...
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How Bashar Al-Assad rescued Trump
By one single act of pure evil Bashar Al-Assad has rescued the Trump presidency. Since his inauguration in January 2017, Donald Trump has struggled to get his administration up and running. At the heart of his troubles is the ongoing FBI investigation into possible collusion between his election campaign team and the...
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Blackmailing the UN is not an option for civilised states
Israel’s decision to cut its annual contribution to the United Nations is mean-spirited and infantile. After committing itself to pay $11.7 million to the international organisation in 2017, the Netanyahu government has decided to slash $2 million from that sum, in addition to the $6 million that was cut...
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By arresting its co-founder, Israel has confirmed BDS as a strategic threat
It is now one week since the Israeli authorities arrested Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment (BDS) movement in Palestine. His arrest follows years of intimidation and threats by various state agencies. If the purpose is to isolate and silence Barghouti, his arrest was, at...
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The Human Rights Council must take a stand against Israeli apartheid; it’s the least it can do
Multilateral institutions can either be tiresome talking shops or dynamic vehicles of change. The United Nations is a prime example. Although its purpose is undeniably laudable, its record of achievements is dreadful, especially on the issue of human rights. Ten years ago, just after becoming Secretary-General of the UN, the...
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A challenge from the Palestinian diaspora
The Palestinians Abroad Conference in Istanbul has presented nothing less than a challenge to the national authority installed and supported by Israel’s allies in Ramallah. Despite the best efforts of the Palestinian Authority to prevent Palestinians from the diaspora getting together in this way, well over 4,000 men and...
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Netanyahu's visit is another headache for Trump
Since his inauguration on 20 January, Donald Trump’s presidency has been rocked by one controversy after another. Reports that Russia hacked into the offices of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, triggered a showdown with the powerful Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Similarly, his “total and complete shutdown” of the entry...
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Mexico demonstrates how a state should stand up for itself; Arab world please note
When Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu jumped into the US-Mexican brawl on 28th January he clearly did not expect the fierce response he got from Mexico. Like his soul mate in the White House, who appears to conduct foreign policy via twitter, Netanyahu tweeted, “President Trump is right. I...
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Beware the ‘two-state solution’
“Tomorrow will look different — and tomorrow is very close.”So said Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahuin response to the just-concluded Paris conference on Middle East peace, which he denounced as “rigged”. The Israeli leader sees a conspiracy under every bed, even those of his closest allies. Last month, he accused...
