Items by Yassir Zaatreh
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- February 20, 2019 Yassir Zaatreh
Netanyahu’s agenda in Warsaw was to target the Palestinians, not Iran
Benjamin Netanyahu looked like the groom at an upmarket wedding at last week’s Warsaw Summit on the Middle East. Everyone else looked like extras, props for the main man in centre stage. Those who have listened to the Israeli Prime Minister’s discourse over the past two years will rarely find…
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- February 15, 2019 Yassir Zaatreh
Mahmoud Abbas has just made an openly defeatist speech
In his speech at the Forum on Freedom and Peace at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah on Wednesday, in the presence of Israeli politicians, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas went further than ever to reiterate statements that he has made before but which are denied by his supporters. “I want to…
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- July 15, 2015 Yassir Zaatreh
What implications does the Iran nuclear deal have for the Middle East?
The main question that arises at the moment is what implications the nuclear agreement will have for the Middle East in light of the chaos that has spread across the region and ignited a fire the likes of which has not been seen for decades. The implications must also be…
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- July 2, 2015 Yassir Zaatreh
Will the Egyptian regime change its stance on Hamas?
We are not placing an Egyptian court’s refusal to classify Hamas among its watch list of terrorist groups within the context of this question. It was, after all, a decision that resulted from recent developments and, therefore, the natural progression of an expected outcome. Placing Hamas indefinitely on a terrorism…
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- July 27, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Is this about Gaza and Hamas or the Palestinian cause and nation?
Is the current conflict about Gaza and Hamas or is it about the Palestinian cause and nation? This is an extremely important question, because some people are too hasty and connect the on-going Israeli aggression against Hamas only, or the Gaza Strip, as if the enclave is not part of…
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- June 3, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
The Palestinian cause is priority, not Hamas or Fatah
If we are to think with the same logic as Fatah, the Palestinian Authority or Hamas, then maybe we would be happy to celebrate the announcement of the new unity government. The president and minister of defence (who remain unchanged) are reportedly going to announce the rest of the ministers…
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- January 27, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
There were two sides to these demonstrations
Was the opposition demonstration in Cairo huge on Sunday? Yes, it was; but so was the crowd supporting the president, although scanning the media you would be hard-pressed to know this. As such, it is worth looking at the conflict in Egypt from the other side, so to speak. Imagine,…
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- January 27, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Setting out to defame a political opponent
When a journalist sets out to defame a political opponent, whoever it may be, finding the reasoning behind it will not be difficult, whatever the motive may be, whatever interests are involved and whichever group foots the bill. Those prone to jumping from one ideological box to another, or from…
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- January 27, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
What’s next for Egypt after dispersing the protesters?
What must be said first is that cornering the protests against the military coup in two arenas only, Raba’a and Al Nahda, was a failed attempt at limiting them to a tight space. Everyone knows that the protests of legitimacy supporters over the last month and a half were all…
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- January 27, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Asma Al-Beltagi: the child who is an icon of Rabaa Al-Adawiyyah
Asmaa Mohammed Al-Beltagi was a child in the legal sense of the word. At just 17 years old, she was mature for her age in terms of outlook and actions; she was the only girl in her family. This child was shot and killed by Egyptian security forces on “Black…
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- January 27, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Chasing away the Tunisian revolution
Al-Nahda Party is struggling to make sure that what happened to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt does not happen in Tunisia. More importantly, the party is working towards sparing the Tunisians the fate of the Egyptian revolution. It would seem as though the situation of the revolution in Tunisia is…
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- January 27, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Security of the Zionist entity comes first…but is there a second?
The negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians that are being held under American patronage are ironic, and their purpose seems to be buying time and spreading the delusion that a settlement can be reached to prevent the third Intifada, which indeed is on the horizon in retaliation against the actions…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Assad’s flawed analysis and coded message to the West
Bashar Al-Assad has given an “exclusive interview” to Britain’s Sunday Telegraph, the first with the Western media since the beginning of the revolution in Syria. Ironically, this was shortly before more than 40 under-cover security men were killed on Friday and while the Arab League awaited a response from Syria’s…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Will Islamists really fail in government?
The new mantra against Islamist politicians is that they can succeed in opposition but fail in government; experience of holding the reins of power will, it is alleged, reveal the paucity of their skill in governance. The main question that comes to mind when we hear Islamists’ opponents singing this…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Pressures on Hamas and the Exit from Syria
Before clashes broke out in Syria, the head of the Hamas Movement’s Political Bureau, Khaled Meshaal, contacted the Syrian leadership and offered clear and frank advice regarding the need for political reform. He warned the regime that the wave of demand for reform sweeping the region would not stop at…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Islamists and Palestine after the Arab Spring
There is no doubt about Islamists’ commitment to the Palestinian cause, regardless of their ideological classifications, or whether they are in government or opposition. Nevertheless, a number of statements attributed to them in recent months – some accurately – cast doubt on that commitment, even given that some were distorted and exaggerated.…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
New victory for Sheikh Raed Salah, the Sentinel of Al-Aqsa
Sheikh Raed Salah’s legal victory against the British government’s decision to deport him from the UK represents one more example of the battles he has been fighting for years against the Israelis and their supporters inside and outside historic Palestine. The Upper Immigration Tribunal’s decision emphasises the independence of the…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Between money keeper and policy maker
Once again Muhammad Rashid has returned to the forefront of the political scene, first through programmes on satellite television under the title “political memory”, and second through the Palestinian Authority’s request for Interpol to arrest the man on charges of corruption. That request has been ignored, perhaps because the PA…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
A non-member state: what’s next?
President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that if all attempts to return to the negotiating table fail then the Palestinian Authority will approach the UN General Assembly seeking recognition as a non-member state. He cited Switzerland and the Vatican State as examples of such states. Of course, if Palestine is recognised…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Why is the PA reluctant to investigate Arafat’s death?
Out of nowhere, a sister of the late President Yasser Arafat has insisted that no exhumation of his remains should take place. We have never heard of this honourable lady before because she has never commented until now on any aspect the late President’s death and alleged assassination. It does…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
The time is ripe for Palestinian reconciliation, again
After the victory of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza against the Israeli offensive and the relative success at the United Nations, there is a positive atmosphere with regards to reconciliation; the time, surely, is ripe for it. However, when we ask questions about it, it looks as if we’re sabotaging…
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- January 25, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Does reconciliation really need “temporary borders” which will threaten the Palestinian cause?
Benjamin Netanyahu’s election coalition partner has said that it is “impossible” to solve the conflict with the Palestinians. “It is possible to manage it – and it is important to manage it – and to negotiate in order to reach a long-term transitional agreement,” claimed Avigdor Lieberman, who was speaking…
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- January 24, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Why the Israelis prefer Omar Suleiman
Since it was first mooted about eight years ago that the son of Hosni Mubarak was being groomed to take his place as president of Egypt, the Director of the country’s General Intelligence Services, Omar Suleiman has faced fierce competition for the top job. Meanwhile, the neo-con Zionist lobby has…
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- January 24, 2014 Yassir Zaatreh
Obama the tourist seeks Israel Lobby approval
It has become a tradition amongst American presidents to begin their period of office by visiting Israel, especially over the past three decades during which time the Israel Lobby has clearly taken control of American politics. Democratic or Republican, it would be exceptional to see any American president ever depart…