Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Oraib Al-Rantawi
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A recap of Israel’s options in Gaza
It seems necessary to remind everyone of Israel’s options in Gaza with every round of confrontation in order to prevent the truth from being mixed with delusion. It is also necessary so that the Palestinian compass does not remain misguided, with some believing that they are on the correct...
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Questions from the Jordan, Egypt, Iraq meeting
The Tripartite Jordanian-Egyptian-Iraqi Summit held in Cairo raised three fundamental questions: First: Are we trying to restore the Arab Cooperation Council, which included Yemen and these three countries in the 1980s, and ended with Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait? Second: Can Egypt and Jordan expect closer relations with Iraq in the fields...
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Five observations regarding the New Zealand massacre
New Zealand has become part of the Jordanian debate lately. In the past, the name of this remote and quiet country was only mentioned at butchers when they offer you either a locally reared lamb or one from New Zealand, slaughtered in Jordan or Dubai. This time, the massacre...
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On the events in Algeria and Sudan
The ongoing popular uprisings in Algeria and Sudan have caused the countries to look to each other and left observers and analysts unable to avoid comparisons. Such comparisons are made either between the slogans, goals and active forces in the uprisings or between the consequences, outcomes and how the...
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Algeria’s long path towards democracy
As of Tuesday, Algeria entered a new stage on the long path towards democracy. The situation has not yet been resolved and the fate of the country is still unknown. However, today’s Algeria is not the Algeria of yesterday and it is unlikely to return to what it was....
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Kushner's new ideas are Netanyahu's old ones
Kushner’s new ideas are not different from Netanyahu’s old ones. The inexperienced US president’s son-in-law, with poor charisma, who, as a result of family connections, jumped to the top of the American leadership hierarchy and took over a handful of the most complex foreign policy files (the Palestinian issue...
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Is Jordan ready to deal with fighters and their families returning from Syria?
US President Donald Trump set the cat amongst the pigeons when he called on EU states to take back 800 Daesh fighters held by American and Syrian Democratic Forces to the east of the River Euphrates. He said that it is the responsibility of the European countries to take...
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‘We’ll accept whatever the Palestinians accept’
“We’ll accept whatever the Palestinians accept” has become a slogan used by several Arab states under various circumstances over the years. It seems that it has become a rule of thumb when forming Arab states’ positions on the Palestinian cause and the Palestinians’ struggle for their freedom and independence. However,...
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America’s Warsaw Conference on the Middle East will not resolve any crises
In the days leading up to the Warsaw Conference on the Middle East, the debate continues over the objectives of this American initiative, its seriousness and feasibility. This also includes the question of the motives of several Arab countries intending to participate, as many of their calculations and priorities...
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Two governments are competing over what’s left of Palestine
Two Palestinian governments will soon see the light of day; both will be under occupation and siege. One will be official and declared, formed by Fatah, and it will receive international recognition as the legitimate government. The second will be a de facto and implicit government. It will bear...
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The resignation of the Palestinian government is a good thing, but what comes next?
The resignation of the Palestinian Authority government led by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah was both expected and entirely natural. I say this because it obviously cannot fulfil its functions and tasks on a national level, especially after it became part of the problem as far as the social security...
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The rules of engagement between Syria and Israel
Israel has, so far, succeeded in imposing its own rules of engagement on Syria and Iraq. Barely a week goes by without Israeli warplanes launching missile attacks on Syrian (Iranian) targets, usually on sensitive sites such as the Damascus International Airport and surrounding areas. It causes physical and human...
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Iran, Israel and Foreign Minister Zarif
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif used French magazine Le Point to challenge the world to find a specific statement made by an Iranian official threatening or vowing to eliminate and destroy Israel. He gave a new reading of the statements and fatwas (opinions) of the first Supreme Leader...
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Will the Trump administration make occupied Golan part of ‘deal of the century’?
Over the past seven years, the extreme right-wing Israeli government has sought to exploit the Syrian crisis in order to legalise its annexation of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (occupied on 14 November 1981). Its diplomacy and lobbying efforts continued in Washington and international capitals to gain recognition by...
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Will Trump leave the White House before Tehran surrenders?
The second set of US sanctions against Iran just came into force. These sanctions mainly target two strategic sectors: energy and banking. Washington’s wants to “zero” Iran’s oil exports and cut Tehran’s ties to the global banking system called Swift. However, there are severe doubts about the ability of the...
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What got the Palestinian President angry?
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas seemed angry during the opening session of the 30th PLO Central Council, mainly at representatives of factions and independent figures who decided not to attend the session. We are not talking about the Hamas and Jihad movements as they are not even represented in the PLO’s institutions....
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Stop limiting criticism of Israel to 'the Netanyahu government'
The Labour Party conference marked a watershed moment for the Palestine solidarity movement in the UK. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which distributed hundreds of flags that day, noted that it was the first time in living memory there was a debate on Palestine at a Labour Party conference. Amid...
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Netanyahu in Muscat: Is the initiative worth the risk?
What prompted the Sultanate of Oman to receive the Israeli Prime Minister at this particular time? Three hypotheses were developed in response to this question and as an attempt to explain the unusual Omani move, unfamiliar with Oman’s foreign policy. First, the strongest and least promoted hypothesis is that the Sultanate...
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No war between America and Iran, but no peace either
By launching a series of medium-range ballistic missiles towards targets close to areas under American control in eastern Syria, Iran is approaching the “American red lines” without actually crossing them. This can only be seen as an escalation of Iranian “reactions” to Washington’s “actions” against it since it decided...
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Lebanon, Palestine, and the controversial relationship between the ‘authority’ and ‘resistance’
The Lebanese and Palestinian experiences show the difficulty, if not impossibility, of combining the “authority” and the “resistance”. Each one of these “institutions”, so to speak, has its own different logic and tools. They each have their own incompatible, not to say “contradictory”, considerations and calculations, and the “best...
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Oman mediation and Iran’s return to the diplomatic path
The flow of American statements confirming its desire for unconditional dialogue with Iran hasn’t stopped. The president and his senior aides haven’t stopped talking about their desire and willingness to immediately start new negotiations with the Iranian leadership regarding the nuclear and missile programmes and Iran’s regional role, unconditionally,...
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The Helsinki irony: When Trump and Assad both win
The “shameful” and “weak” performance of US President Donald Trump at the Helsinki Summit dominated news reports, coverage, and reactions during and after the summit. We actually only know a little bit about what happened at the “core” of the discussions regarding the issues listed on the agenda. If...
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Is Abbas waiting for a ladder to climb down from the tree?
After returning from its latest tour of the region the American team, with its peace process and deal of the century, is showing exceptional interest in the need to “lure” the Palestinians back to the negotiating table and break the decision made by the Palestinian leadership to stop all...
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On the fire that ruined Iraq’s elections
The fire that broke out in the ballot box storage in Baghdad did not only devour the ballot boxes, but it also undermined the credibility and integrity of the Iraqi elections and the credibility of the ongoing political process in the country. This country is currently on the verge...
