Middle East Near You

World Children’s Day is, sadly, a day like any other; its symbolism is nothing other than an international gimmick to proclaim rights while simultaneously taking them away. For Palestinian...

A Washington Post editorial sums up the mainstream aftermath of Israeli aggression against Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is credited with purportedly “choosing peace” in the enclave: “The...

It is time, once again, for the hyphenated “Israel-Gaza” paradigm – an invention that suits mainstream narratives. As the media mulls the possibilities of another Israeli military aggression against...

The UN promotes its penchant for convenience at the expense of Palestinians and hardly anyone expresses concern. Perhaps because “concern” is the UN’s monopoly over the political squalour that...

As the media hype over Khan Al-Ahmar fades away, mainstream narratives have yet to find another sensationalist violation to exploit. It is disheartening to see that the disappearance of...

In collaboration with the Palestinian Ministry of Education, the EU launched a competition across schools in Gaza and the occupied West Bank called “Know Europe”. The aim, according to...

With the US set to reveal details of the “Deal of the Century” in the forthcoming days, the Palestinian Central Council scheduled time for “deliberation upon important matters” to...

Nur Masalha’s latest book, “Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History” (Zed Books, 2018) presents an accurate distinction between the Palestinian return to history and the purported Zionist reclamation –...

The news that the US and the Palestinian Authority are planning for CIA Director Gina Haspell to visit Ramallah comes just as Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report...

After the US unilaterally recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, withdrew all funding from the United Nations Relief and Works Organisation for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and closed the Palestine Liberation...

The Palestinian Authority and the international community made a PR spectacle out of Khan Al-Ahmar and its impending demolition. Suffice to say that when facing human rights violations which...

In 2015, Israel approved a law that stipulated a 20 year prison sentence for individuals caught throwing stones. The intention was to target Palestinians involved in resistance activities, despite...

It is disconcerting that the decision to demolish the village of Khan Al-Ahmar is being tied to the two-state compromise by Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. At a meeting...

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has recently had its mandate extended until 30 June 2020 “in the absence of a solution to the...

The introduction to Nabil Anani: Palestine, Land and People (Saqi Books, 2018) sets the pace for delving into the art collection in this book which weaves an intricate trail...

In its annual report to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People recommended that Israel acknowledges the Palestinian...

The Great Return March protests in the Gaza Strip have provided the foundations for Palestinians from which they can articulate their demands, away from the political bickering, opportunism and...

While speculation about Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s speech to the UN General Assembly continues, the trends unfolding on the sidelines are indicative of increasing restrictions, to the point...

As the UN General Assembly meeting approaches, the entire international community is engaged in a collective spectacle discussing the obsolete two-state compromise as the only way forward for Palestinians....

Human rights are universal. Or so we were taught. But the simplistic notion has been overturned, mutilated and manipulated to the point that the only universal aspect about human...

Michael Berdine’s succinct analysis of his subject Sykes’s political involvement in the Middle East is also a reflection that can be extended to the present-day turmoil in the region....

What would prompt the UN to assert, without reservations or calculated statements, that Gaza has collapsed in terms of humanitarian necessities? So far, the international organisation has relied on...

There is increasing evidence that international overtures, ostensibly to safeguard Palestinian rights, are nothing but pretence. Following Israel’s High Court ruling in favour of the destruction of Khan Al-Ahmar,...

The US decision to close down the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s office in Washington is reported to have been made in retaliation for the Palestinian Authority’s decision to reject negotiations...

In the aftermath of the US decision to end its funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the EU has pledged to continue its financial support....

The rhetoric of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas fools nobody. Less than a week after meeting retired Mossad officer Ari Shaul and reiterating his concerns about Israel’s demography, Abbas...

It is not only the Trump administration that wants to alter, to the point of negating, the Palestinian right of return. On Tuesday, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas made...

Memory and metaphor intertwine in Ghassan Zaqtan’s “Where the Bird Disappeared” (Seagull Books, 2018), to the point that, at times, seeking to distinguish one from the other is akin...

It is possible that the arguments in favour of retaining the Palestinian right of return are falling into the semantics trap which Israel has been perfecting overtly over many...

Not only has the Palestinian Authority lagged behind in matters of urgent decision making, but it also persists in making defeatist comments which will generate additional repercussions for the...

With the Bedouin village of Khan Al-Ahmar still targeted by Israel for demolition, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has availed himself of the opportunity to call for mobilisation in...

As the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, brokered by the UN and Egypt, went into effect yesterday, Ramallah erupted into a litany of abominable comments. Senior Fatah official Azzam...