Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Ramona Wadi
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Biden will seek to extend the narrative that Israel is being ‘singled out’
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden may try to sustain the fable that he is an alternative to current US President Donald Trump, but for the Palestinians a Biden presidency will most probably normalise the human rights violations that have attracted wider endorsement as a result of US support for...
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Danon has exposed the fact that the UN has abandoned Palestine and the Palestinians
Israel’s outgoing Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, is not leaving the arena without his usual, unfounded claim that the international community is subservient to the Palestinian narrative. In a recent item in the Jerusalem Post, Danon cautioned against calling Israel’s plan to formalise its land theft “annexation”. To...
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The PA is a willing accomplice in the international subjugation of Palestine
From seemingly defiant rhetoric to the expected capitulation, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has offered nothing in terms of a unified Palestinian stance against US President Donald Trump’s deal of the century. Going back to a compromised international community, ready to negotiate additional losses for Palestinians which will ultimately...
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British diplomacy defends Israel and legitimises annexation
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s op-ed for YNet news reflects all that is wrong with speaking out against annexation “as Israel’s friend”. Israel has diplomatic allegiances and acquaintances; “friendship” is the euphemism used to make colonialism and collaboration endearing to the undiscerning. It is no surprise that Johnson’s op-ed drew...
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The EU’s delay in sanctioning Israel reflects its compromised ‘peace building’ agenda
According to Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz, 1 July is not “a sacred date” to implement the proposed annexation of more Palestinian land. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu minimised the role played by Gantz’s Blue and White Party, while slightly altering the latter’s statement to state that due...
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Dialogue in Palestine. The People to People Diplomacy Programme and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
International donors have influenced and shaped narratives on Palestine, to the point that to speak about Palestine without reflection is an exercise in disseminating global perceptions and intent. Nadia Naser-Najjab’s study, Dialogue in Palestine: The People to People Diplomacy Programme and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (IB Tauris, 2020) provides a...
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Israel’s military checkpoints are places made for its colonial violence
For Palestinians, Israel’s military checkpoints are made for its colonial violence and perpetual dehumanisation of the occupied population. In the latest grotesque spectacle of extrajudicial killing, Ahmed Erekat, a 27 year old Palestinian man and nephew of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s Secretary General Saeb Erekat, was killed by Israeli...
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The PA has played its part to normalise Israel’s annexation plans
The main arguments against the impending Israeli annexation of land in the occupied West Bank are dominated by proponents of the Zionist colonial project. Of course some Palestinians are speaking out against annexation, but the political framework is missing, as the Palestinian Authority and the international community intended it...
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As annexation looms, the PA and international community plan is more futile rhetoric
Rhetorical opposition to Israel’s annexation plans has gained a rather futile momentum. The clearest example of this came at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva from Adalah, Al-Haw, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, and Al Mezan Centre for...
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EU diplomacy is profitable for Israel, but a disaster for the Palestinians
Since Israel announced its plan to annex swathes of the occupied West Bank, the EU has only hypothesised on what steps the bloc may take in response. The most prominent of these could be the exclusion of Israel from the Horizon 2020 research grants. Other than this possibility (it...
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The PA’s ‘counter-proposal’ facilitates its colonial collaboration with Israel
Further proof that the Palestinian Authority will not attempt to safeguard what remains of Palestine, let alone insist on decolonisation, is the plan submitted to the Middle East Quartet which does nothing other than confirm subjugation to the two-state compromise. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh is reportedly calling the...
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International collusion with Israel is what real ‘political terrorism’ looks like
Israeli media outlets are trying to create a furore over a possible move by the Palestinian Authority to submit a resolution at the UN General Assembly condemning Israel’s annexation plan. “The solution to the conflict will come through direct negotiations in Jerusalem and not through political terrorism in New...
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Israel’s one-state reality is facilitated by the international community
For several years, the call for a one-state solution has been part of the alternatives to the two-state paradigm which forms the backdrop to international diplomacy on Palestine. “One state” is generally described as a state with equal rights for all Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews, yet the power...
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International and EU inaction in response to Israeli crimes has been normalised
The coronavirus pandemic in the occupied West Bank has not deterred Israel from demolishing Palestinian dwellings and structures, including those funded by the EU. In the last week of May, the EU representatives in Jerusalem and Ramallah issued a statement in which they noted the ongoing demolitions as well...
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Normalising Israeli violence during the pandemic
In April, the Israeli Civil Administration stated that it would halt the demolition and destruction of Palestinian dwellings during the coronavirus pandemic. The decision, communicated as a victory by the Palestinian Authority, attempted to portray Israel as being concerned with the humanitarian consequences of the pandemic for a displaced...
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The PA’s pro-EU diplomacy merely serves its self-preservation
After declaring an end to all agreements with Israel and the US, the Palestinian Authority is struggling to chart an alternative diplomatic path. While Israel has set a date for the forthcoming annexation of the occupied West Bank, the PA is still calling for international conferences and recognition of...
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Can Abbas repudiate all agreements with Israel?
On Tuesday, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas declared the dissolution of agreements with Israel and the US, following the annexation plans that have been facilitated through the so-called “deal of the century”. Wafa news agency published Abbas’ declaration, which partly reads: “The Palestine Liberation Organisation and the State of Palestine are absolved, as...
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The ICC does not pose a ‘strategic threat’ to Israel
Since the International Criminal Court (ICC) determined that Palestine is a state for the purpose of its investigations into war crimes committed by Israel against Palestinian civilians, a fresh round of threats against the institution is taking place. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned of consequences based upon his government’s...
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On the Nakba anniversary, the two-state politics hold more value for the PA
The Palestinian people can expect nothing but feeble attempts at rhetoric that contradict political action from Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. In his speech commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the 1948 Nakba, Abbas once again proved he has no plan to counter the ongoing Israeli colonial expansion. “Nothing is more precious to...
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While the US interprets international law for Israel, the world opts for ambiguity
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel tomorrow for discussions with its leadership about annexation, among other issues. After politically facilitating the annexation process for Israel, Pompeo is attempting, and failing, to divert attention away from the role the US played in the recent colonial decision. During the meeting with...
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The EU helps Israel export its colonial violence
In 2018, the Israeli defence company Elbit won a €59 million ($63.7 million) contract to provide drone surveillance systems in the Mediterranean for the EU. “Having been selected by the European Union authorities is yet another vote of confidence in the Hermes 900 by following additional contract awards for this UAS in Europe,...
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The world must halt Israel’s annexation and reverse its colonisation of Palestine
UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk’s criticism of the forthcoming US-Israeli annexation of more Palestinian land offers a good start to collective political action against Israel, if only the international community would show that it is willing. “The plan would crystallise a 21st century apartheid, leaving in its wake the...
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‘President Biden’ would not erase Trump’s concessions to Israel
US Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden will not reverse the Trump administration’s unilateral decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem if elected president. “The move shouldn’t have happened in the context as it did, it should happen in the context of a larger deal to help us achieve...
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International insistence on ‘two states’ endorses US-Israeli annexation plans
Having failed to protect the political rights of the Palestinian people, the UN is diverting attention away from the evasion of its duties by focusing on coronavirus cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. “This recognition of interdependence could – if there is political will – translate into tangible...