Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Ramona Wadi
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These Chains Will Be Broken. Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons
What the news reports eliminate, Ramzy Baroud’s new book, These Chains Will be Broken: Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons (Clarity Press, 2019), pushes to the fore. Palestinian prisoners, misrepresented through statistics, news reports, exploitation and glorification, tell slivers of their stories in this collection of first-hand...
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The PA will opt for losing Palestine if it means keeping its ‘authority’
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas continues to provide proof of his worthlessness when it comes to political decision-making. If the US “continues” with the so-called deal of the century, Abbas has threatened only the possibility of a full boycott. The US “peace plan”, which enhances Israel’s strategies for forcibly displacing...
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Trump’s deal seeks to break Palestinian prisoners’ resistance
Palestinian prisoners – the bulwark of Palestinian resistance – have faced several levels of exclusion and exploitation throughout the decades. Building upon this trajectory, US President Donald Trump’s so-called “deal of the century” proposes a humiliating surrender in return for conditional freedom. It is not just the distortion of resistance,...
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The Palestinians face a double battle as the repercussions of Trump’s plan emerge
Just a day before US President Donald Trump revealed the details of the purported “deal of the century”, the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh made a last-ditch attempt to disfigure what Palestinians have been fighting for since Israel established its colonial presence in Palestine. The US plan, he...
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Charles’ words on Palestine must not go unnoticed
Prince Charles’ visit to the occupied Palestinian territories has garnered media attention. Words of sympathy, far from a political message, were the subject of his speech in Bethlehem after touring historical sites and meeting with Palestinian refugees at the Aida refugee camp. Nevertheless, his statement has resonated with Palestinians. The...
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ICC delays, Israeli belligerence and PA complacency
As expected, the International Criminal Court has cranked its bureaucratic delays into motion over the proposed investigation into Israeli war crimes. The ICC’s Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s statement was deemed to be “too long and exceeded the amount of pages allowed for filing” such a proposal. This has been...
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No opposition from the international community as Israel alters the two-state paradigm
The EU is predicting an increase in Israeli demolitions of Palestinian dwellings and structures in the occupied West Bank, thus perpetuating the problem of displacement. Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett has described the plan to apply Israeli sovereignty to Area C as “a real and immediate battle for the...
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Israel’s fear of prosecution strengthens Palestine narratives
Israeli media has reported that the International Criminal Court (ICC) could issue secret arrest warrants for Israeli officials involved in war crimes against the Palestinian people. According to a senior Israeli official who spoke to Israel Hayom, “The very fact that an ICC investigation will be launched will make...
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For Palestine, international consensus has become a platform for inaction
In a recent meeting with representatives from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Secretary-General Saeb Erekat once again wasted an opportunity to demand the implementation of the Palestinian right of return. UNRWA’s mandate renewal, Erekat declared, “reflects the international political...
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More war crimes are Israel’s plan for the immediate future
Israel’s main bone of contention with the International Criminal Court’s possible investigation into war crimes in occupied Palestine is about settlement expansion. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s declaration in November 2019 which basically insisted that Israeli settlements are not illegal, affirmed US support for annexation of the occupied...
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Israel’s renewed campaign against UNRWA is an attack on Palestinian education and liberation
The international community has still not caught up with, or refuses to acknowledge, Israel’s commitment to countering each purported victory for the Palestinians with yet more violations. These countermeasures implemented by Israel, notably to prevent the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from fulfilling its mandate,...
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EU financial aid and the fragmentation of Palestinian society
European Union (EU) funding for Palestinian human rights organisations is not without its caveats. In line with its purported state-building initiatives, the EU has long imposed restrictions upon Palestinian organisations and their endeavours, in return for financial aid, thus stifling an important part of grassroots mobilisation in terms of...
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UN diplomacy will continue to shelter Israel from accountability
A mere two days before the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced an investigation into Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people (as well as those alleged to have been committed by others in the Occupied Palestinian Territories), the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace...
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Torture of Palestinian detainees prevails in Israeli jails
In comments to Al Jazeera regarding Israel’s use of torture against Palestinian detainees, Qadura Faris, head of the Palestinian Prisoner Society, declared: “The Israeli security wants to leave a mark on the psyche of those it detains: resistance has a price, and it is hefty.” Torture methods used by Israel...
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Palestine Past and Present
The ostracisation of Palestine by the international community to facilitate its exploitation by colonial Israel is portrayed excellently in Palestine Past and Present (Nova Publishers, 2019). This collection of academic essays, edited by Tristan Dunning, the author of Hamas, Jihad and Popular Legitimacy, presents a concise yet thorough assessment...
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Accountability, culpability to achieve justice for Palestine
Israel has reacted in typical belligerence to the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s announcement that there are sufficient grounds to investigate war crimes committed against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories. The ICC’s statement is by no means a definite confirmation of prosecution – it states that...
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Palestinian human rights cannot be addressed without decolonisation
The latest report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is a stark reminder of how Israel’s colonisation process in Palestine has created differences that are irreconcilable with the framework of human rights and international law. In particular, the CERD pointed out the discrimination inherent...
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Brazil and Israel are complicit in denying Palestinian rights in Jerusalem
It was a celebration of sorts for Israel when Brazil inaugurated the opening of its trade and investment promotions office in Jerusalem. As indicated by Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and the chair of his country’s Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee, opening APEX-Brasil’s office...
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Canada’s latest UN stance fails to affirm commitment to Palestinians’ political rights
UN resolutions on Palestine are given more prominence than the Palestinian people themselves. What happens within the UN premises sets an agenda that is difficult to challenge, mainly because international consensus rarely makes it beyond resolution texts to implementation. As a result, an unexpected shift from the predictable votes,...
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UNRWA must operate alongside a collective effort to help Palestinians achieve their political rights
December 8, 1949 marked the establishment of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Despite the recent Israeli-US conspiracy to eliminate the agency, as well as its internal shortcomings as evidenced by allegations of corruption and misconduct, it continues to provide services for Palestinian refugees...
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Israel’s contribution to UN accessibility is a façade for its violations
Israel marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities by donating three paediatric wheelchairs to the UN Human Rights Council. The aim, according to Israel’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, was “to make the UN truly accessible, so that persons with physical disabilities can actively take part and influence world...
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It is time to use the legacy of Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia to support the Palestinians
State violence against indigenous populations is arguably the most visible of human rights violations and, conversely, of the least concern to the international community. After the military coup in Bolivia which deposed indigenous President Evo Morales, Israel has secured another ally in Latin America, right-wing interim president Jeanine Añez...
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Activism for Palestine must create spaces for Palestinian narratives
When, in December 2017, US President Donald Trump unilaterally recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the protests in Palestine swiftly ignited a ripple of international solidarity. Activists in many countries protested against the decision, while world leaders repeated their carefully-crafted statements and considered their duty done. UN resolutions on Jerusalem,...
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Recognition of a Palestinian state without liberation is an illusion
During the Berlin European Council summit in 1999, the European Union declared “its readiness to consider the recognition of a Palestinian state in due course” and conditionally dependent upon the Oslo framework, as well as “Israel’s security and Israel’s acceptance as an equal partner in the region.” Two decades...
