Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Ramona Wadi
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Palestinian options dwindle without reinforcement of collective memory
President Donald Trump generated considerable discussion earlier this year with his vague suggestion that the US may no longer abide by the two-state “solution”, albeit while offering no alternative in the process. In 2016, international institutions started voicing the very obvious observation that the two-state imposition is obsolete, yet...
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Incitement and oblivion in Netanyahu’s AIPAC speech
The Times of Israel has published the full transcript of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the annual AIPAC conference. Only genuine ignorance could be forgiven for assuming any benevolence on Israel’s behalf. For those who understand the dynamics of colonial violence, Netanyahu’s televised speech from Jerusalem combined...
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Israeli army tactics imply that Gaza can expect more premeditated aggression
The Israel army have embarked upon simultaneous exercises which imply its commanders’ intention to launch yet more premeditated aggression against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, for example, 2,000 army reserves participated in a surprise drill simulating “war in Gaza”, reported the Times of Israel. IDF Chief...
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Despite their allegedly different priorities, the PA is fuelling Israel’s ambitions
The diplomatic meetings and visits of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have coincided with the Israeli Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Yoav Horowitz visiting Washington to discuss settlement expansion. The stated objectives of both the PA and Israel differ in dissemination, yet follow an impeccable collaboration which should infuriate...
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Gaza under Hamas: From Islamist democracy to Islamic government
One of this year winner of the Palestine Book Awards, Bjorn Brenner talks about his book 'Gaza Under Hamas'...
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The concept of ‘irrelevance’ in Moshe Ya’alon’s rhetoric
In a meeting with journalists this week, former Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon adopted a candidly hypocritical attitude with regard to the various forms of colonial violence inflicted upon the Palestinian people. The “irrelevance” of Palestine in the international arena as well as the inflicted Palestinian dependency upon Israel...
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The aftermath of an activist’s murder reveals possibilities for Palestinian resistance to thrive
Israel’s murder of Palestinian activist and intellectual Basel Al-Araj has unleashed further evidence of how the Palestinian Authority deals with dissenting views and protests. Following the news that the PA is still going to put Al-Araj’s comrades on trial for alleged possession of weapons — as well as the...
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Futile options and PA complicity in Israeli colonialism
Two recent reports in the Times of Israel can be read as confirmation that US President Donald Trump’s policy towards Palestine may be perceived as more belligerent than that of Barack Obama. However, if proof was ever needed of the seamless manner in which an incoming president emulates and...
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Security coordination renders Palestinian activists targets for murder
One glance at the PA’s political record reveals a grotesque sliver of competence in one particular area – that of ensuring Israel is supplied with targets for murder. In the early hours of Monday morning, Basel Al-Araj was murdered in Qaddura by Israeli forces during a raid which escalated...
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It is time that the PA served the Palestinians, not the international community
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gave a speech to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) this week which provided another example of inflated rhetoric which serves to derail any possibility of liberation. At a time when the two-state imposition is being refuted collectively, Abbas is distancing himself from collective...
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The PA is torturing Palestinians; why is this not a major scandal?
The Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) seeks to defend press freedom and freedom of expression. It has recently called for a commission of inquiry into the case of Palestinian journalist Sami Al-Sa’ee who works for Al-Fajr Al-Jadeed and reportedly gave testimony to MADA regarding his torture...
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Palestine’s horizon towards a just peace
With constant pragmatism and impeccable analysis derived from decades of experience, former UN Special Rapporteur Professor Richard Falk has compiled a detailed analysis of how illusion and compromise have enforced the deterioration of Palestine with severe consequences for Palestinians.opylytl In “Palestine’s horizon towards a just peace” (Pluto Press, 2017), Falk...
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The Palestinian National Policy Agenda is mired in dependency
According to Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, the Palestinian National Policy Agenda (NPA) for 2017 – 2022 is an endeavour that “puts the Palestinian citizen first”. The program, which was launched in Ramallah yesterday, served as another public relations opportunity in which UN and EU representatives were present, for...
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The international silence over the Khan Al-Ahmar demolitions is appalling
Last Sunday’s demolition orders distributed by the Israel Defence Forces’ Civil Administration to the Bedouin village of Khan Al-Ahmar should prompt the international community to reconsider its silence when it comes to Israel’s ethnic cleansing and displacement of the indigenous Palestinians. It also appears that Israel schedules such blatant...
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Israel and the UN are allies in colonial endeavours
News that Tzipi Livni could be nominated for the post of UN under-secretary-general was overshadowed swiftly by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Donald Trump. It is safe to say that even the most elementary norms have long been shunned by the international institution, despite the unabashed pontificating...
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Trump’s rhetoric exposes the planned fragmentation of Palestine
In between the bouts of ridiculing Donald Trump’s communication skills, whether in the spoken word or Twitter outbursts, it would perhaps be better to contemplate the decline in the prospects for Palestine and Palestinians for what it really is. We are witnessing the culmination of decades of international efforts...
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There are dangerous contradictions in Erekat’s rhetoric
In reading and understanding Saeb Erekat’s rhetoric, it is imperative to include the context of what is left unsaid. From demanding a complete ban on settlement products to insisting on the EU pursuing the implementation of UN resolutions, Erekat exhibits, once again, his penchant for sounding assertive while obliterating...
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Abbas was liberal with the misconceptions in his speech to the French senate
While Israel has blatantly violated international law by legalising settlements on privately-owned Palestinian territory, President Mahmoud Abbas is hindering, rather than facilitating, any reversal of such action. The simple fact is that the Palestinian Authority leader is continuing to speak from a compromised position which places Palestinians on the...
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Time to prioritise Latin America’s solidarity with Palestine
Last Saturday, Nicaragua hosted a conference themed “Building Bridges with the Palestinian Diaspora in Central America”; it was organised by the United Nations and the Committee on the Exercise of Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The 50th year of Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza...
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Abbas’ wasted opportunity at the AU Summit
Two contradictory approaches characterised PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech at the 27th annual summit of the African Union in Rwanda. Prior to the summit, Wafa reported that Abbas intended to mobilise support for Palestine and also seek talks with the aim of boosting mutual relations. The intent became an extension...
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The latest PA foreign ministry statement is tethered to obsolete paradigms
Recognising belligerent intent somewhat belatedly will remain a characteristic of the Palestinian Authority. Despite evidence that Israel was never seeking to implement the two-state “solution”, it was only recently that the PA expressed such awareness and only then within the context of the new US presidency, which is acting...
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EU resolution follows a conveniently altered narrative
Earlier this week, the EU Parliamentary Assembly voted on a report titled “The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza” and adopted Resolution 2142, which consisted of a rehashing of various recommendations seeking to condemn Israel while throwing in a measure of normalisation by propagating the two-state paradigm and the discourse of...
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Extending the displacement of Palestinian civilians
Within the space of two days, Israel has exposed its hypocritical scheming when it comes to Palestinians. Two and a half years after its devastating aggression on Gaza, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the reconstruction of 1,500 homes destroyed during the relentless bombing in Summer...
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Cuban support for Palestine should mirror Castro’s anti-colonial legacy
Palestine continues to face an increasing contradiction which is becoming normalised in diplomatic arenas. During this year’s first UN Security Council session debating the Middle East and the Palestinian Question, Cuban representative Humberto Rivero Rosario made an observation that has been lacking in official rhetoric, but one that was...