For the past three months pop-star hopefuls from across the Middle East have assembled in MBC’s Beirut studios to compete for the title of Arab Idol. Every Friday they sing to a studio of fans, a panel of adjudicators and an audience at home who vote via text message...

One of the most spectacular gifts that any of us may be granted by God during our lives is that you become acquainted with a brother not born of your mother, and with whom you have no ties save for feelings of friendship and love; a brotherhood wholly unmarred...

Former IDF commander, brigadier general of the Givati Brigade and Israeli ambassador to Tanzania, Yitzhak Pundak, expressed no remorse about the destruction of Palestinian villages in 1948, declaring it a necessity in order to establish the State of Israel. Speaking on Israeli army radio, Pundak asserted that he sleeps...

Imagine the story of a man waiting eagerly and anxiously for the arrival of his first born child, and as he waits, he is unjustly detained and sentenced to twenty-seven years behind bars. His wife gives birth to their child while he is in prison and the child grows...

According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Palestinians are faced with an additional and possibly permanent burden. Food insecurity is causing hardships to Palestinians, with one in three households struggling to provide adequate nutrition for their families....

While international outrage over the plight of Samer Issawi has abated considerably, after the agreement between Israeli and Palestinian officials which terminated his hunger strike, the deterioration of other Palestinian prisoners’ health has received scant attention in the mainstream media. A recent United Nations report highlights Israel’s human rights...

This morning army and police officers opened fire on pro-Morsi supporters as they prayed outside the Republican Headquarters in Cairo. The demonstrators were staging a peaceful sit-in outside the building where their now overthrown leader is said to be held; they want Morsi to be reinstated before they leave....

In a joint letter to the European Parliament, sixteen Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations have urged the European Parliament to send a fact-finding mission to “assess the current situation with regard to the detention conditions of Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, and the use of administrative detention.”...

What is going on in Egypt is not merely a political crisis but also an Egyptian struggle which transcends borders and will, no doubt, affect the Islamic world, putting the latter at a crossroads. Will the people rise up for freedom from external influences or will they revert to...

Israel’s reported decision to release 82 pre-Oslo Palestinian political prisoners has unleashed a furore among right wing Knesset members who are opposing the move. The prisoners who are mostly affiliated to Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad are set to be released at intervals during the peace talks. Likud MK...

On Wednesday, the Knesset is expected to vote for parliamentary reform allegedly intended to preserve unity and enhance the government’s prospects of serving a full electoral mandate. Based upon the previous electoral results, smaller parties risk total exclusion from the Knesset unless party leaders decide to lay political differences...

“Children have hobbies, and my hobby is throwing stones.” The simplistic, out of context comment, uttered by a Palestinian teenager interviewed for a recently published New York Times report, sets the scene for the deconstruction of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation. There is no further elaboration about the...

Recent dangerous developments led to overthrew of Egypt’s democratic experience whilst still in its infancy. These developments included constitutional violations, as well as violation of international law, which suggest the return of a repressive dictatorship and the end of the short-lived democratic experience in Egypt. Despite the justifications offered...

While Israel continues to defy international law by further settlement approval and a lack of cooperation with the European Union about the recently publish guidelines restricting projects in areas beyond the Green Line, the occupying power is now allegedly expressing ‘concern’ about the livelihood of Palestinians whose quality of...

A recent blog on the Times of Israel by the former president of the American Jewish Congress, Robert K. Lifton, has called upon Israelis to support Netanyahu’s strategy with regard to the current negotiations. His fear is that the Jewish state might cease to exist, should Israel embark upon...

A sign of a hand with four fingers raised with the thumb closed is fast spreading as a profile picture among Facebook and Twitter users who reject the military coup in Egypt. This sign became common after the dispersal the pro-Morsi supporters in the two protest camps, Rabaa Al-Adawiya...

Breaching Israeli military orders has become the norm, despite IDF claims that it endeavours to minimise physical harm to Palestinians. A report by Defence for Children international – Palestine Section outlines the violence inflicted upon Palestinian civilians, stating that at least 24 children have been injured by crowd control...

Former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez’s internationalist example and legacy is being concretely implemented. On August 24, Mexico’s ‘El Economista’, as well as Iran’s Press TV, reported that Venezuela and Palestine have signed agreements under which oil will be sold ‘at a fair price’ to Palestinians. The five year deal...

Advertising on Canadian TransLink buses and on a wall mural in Vancouver’s City Centre depicting Israel’s expansionist agenda has been deemed a security threat by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (Pacific Region) and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. The advertising titled ‘Disappearing Palestine’ features the four...

The last week has seen a major push for military action in Syria from the UK and US governments. The impetus for western involvement in the two-year civil war came from the alleged chemical attack on 21 August, for which the regime is presumed to be responsible. US secretary...

According to Dr Saeb Erekat, Israel is seeking to further the displacement of Palestinian memory by forcing Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem to alter the curriculum in a manner consistent with Israel’s hegemonic narrative. While the majority of schools have demonstrated resistance against the tactic, five Palestinian schools Sur...

The non-governmental organization Médecins du Monde (MdM) has embarked upon a project to address the ramifications of settler violence in Palestine. The project endeavours to manage the violence by providing various forms of aid to Palestinians living in Nablus, after discovering a high incidence of mental health problems such...

Sally Ahmed Zarir works in a newsroom inside a refugee camp. Zarqa, Jordan’s industrial centre 12 miles northeast of Amman, is home to over 50 per cent of Jordanian’s factories, a 15.9 per cent unemployment rate, and the country’s oldest Palestinian refugee camp. 24 year-old Zarir is one of...

The Palestine Solidarity Legal Support (PSLS) and The Center for Constitutional Rights have joined forces to provide a handbook for Palestinian rights activists entitled “Palestinian human rights advocacy in the US”. The handbook, published this month, provides activists with a guide to more efficient campaigning as well as creates...

Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip have been facing attacks and harassment by the Israeli navy for years. The political situation in Egypt has brought with it a new threat to their livelihood in the shape of the fuel shortages created by the Egyptian government’s crackdown on the tunnels...

During a pro-settlement conference at the European Parliament entitled ‘EU-Israel relations: impact of the new EU guidelines on Israel and their effects on the EU, Israeli and Palestinian economies’, Bayit Yehudi’s Ayelet Shaked denounced the EU decision to stop funding projects pertaining to settlement areas, once again relying upon...

The United Nations has again expressed ‘concern’ about Israel preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinian communities in the West Bank. According to a UN report, an international humanitarian organisation was prohibited from reaching the community of Makhul, thus causing further hardships for Palestinians whose homes were demolished last week...

According to a press release published on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the agency has expressed its ‘gratitude’ to the US for contributing $18.3 million, stating that the ‘generous contribution’ would assist Palestinian refugees facing emergency situations in Syria and Lebanon. Filippo Grandi,...

Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip has been a huge point of contention since it began in 2007. The blockade covers land, sea, and air, and is supported by Egypt, which largely sealed its borders to Gaza after Hamas came to victory in 2006. Israel maintains that the blockade...

A report by Maan Development Centre, titled ‘Endemic Impunity – Israeli violations of international law in the Jordan Valley’ (2013) makes use of legal debate and Israeli manipulation of international law to avoid accountability for its actions against Palestinians. Departing from legal frameworks which Israel regularly disregards in order...

The Israeli minister for Strategic Affairs Yuval Steinitz declared in a report that Palestinians thrive upon incitement embedded within educational institutions. “Incitement is a serious obstacle to peace … The Palestinian Authority is aware of the inciting messages in its official institutions.” The report allegedly gives examples of incitement...

One speech by him from the Rabaa al Adawiya platform was enough to spark the protestor’s enthusiasm and keep them keen and determined, until the moment he was arrested on Wednesday morning, October 30, 2013. The years of fighting and opposing injustice has left no sign on Dr Esam...

As 26 families celebrate the recent return of their sons, brothers and fathers from Israeli jails, Hana al Za’ani is awaiting an arrival of a different kind from her home in Beit Hanoun, Gaza. The former prisoners were the second group of releases authorized by Israel as a “gesture”...

I don’t know how to feel. Part of me is relieved that I made it back alive, but I feel guilty that my relatives and my people are dying. I have only minor physical injuries, but the mental scars are still there. I don’t sleep well at night and...

As the spokesperson of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, Israa Al-Mudalal is breaking stereotypical images of, and breaking the equality barrier for, Muslim women. “When I heard that I was being hired for this new role,” she told Al-Risalah.net, “I saw it as a starting point for achieving my...

Among the distinguished guests at the 2013 Palestine Book Awards  at the Paddington Hilton in London on 14 November was the redoubtable veteran journalist Abdel Bari Atwan, who received the lifetime achievement award for his journalistic and literary work. Atwan stepped down as editor in chief of Al Quds...

Journalism in Syria is no easy task. With access for foreign journalists becoming increasingly difficult, much of the newsgathering falls to local reporters and citizen journalists – but the situation for them, too, is hazardous.   The advocacy group Reporters Without Borders has warned that Syrian government troops are...

Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative on Foreign Affairs, has confirmed that the European Union will be providing financial assistance to the Egyptian military government to the tune of €90 million. She confirmed that “in line with the EU’s commitment at the extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council on 21 August...

As the storm Alexa leaves the region, its catastrophic effects have started to appear in the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave which has been under strict Israeli siege since 2006. Hundreds of families have been displaced by the storm, which also caused more than 100 causalities, including two deaths,...

Today kidneys are sold in Beirut for 1 million Lebanese Pounds; that’s around $670, a very tempting sum for desperate Syrian refugees. Three years down the line of the conflict in their own country, Syrians in neighbouring Lebanon are exploited in many ways; they are especially vulnerable to the...

I have just visited the Gaza Strip. Before leaving for my solidarity visit I was well aware of the statistics of the territory, which has been under siege since 2007. More than 50 per cent of households in Gaza face food insecurity, with 38 per cent of the population...

Today is the second day of a three-day strike in Israel with some 30,000 African asylum seekers protesting against detention and demanding refugee status. The furore rolled up yesterday as Israel approved an amendment in its detention policy two weeks ago, which enables the authorities to detain migrants, refugees...

An Iranian man has broken the world record for the number of years spent without bathing. He spent the last 60 years without a bath. The Iranian News Agency (IRNA) recently published pictures of the 80 year old man. In its report, the agency noted that the man, Amoo...

I never understood how people could rejoice at the news of a person’s death. I happened to be in the UK when Margaret Thatcher died so I witnessed the celebrations. The expressions of joy as the news of the Iron Lady’s death spread around the country shocked me at...

All my life, the flag of Palestine has been ingrained deeply into my brain. From news reports that my father used to consume incessantly to the many protests I attended as a child, the bold colours of the flag are instantly recognisable to me. Recently, however, have I started...

Children incarcerated in Israeli jails continue to face systematic abuse at the hands of Israel’s military. According to Defence for Children International Palestine, Israeli soldiers are responsible for violence and torture inflicted upon minors. A thorough investigation into the committed atrocities is hampered by the settler-colonial state which enshrines...

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the entrance of a mosque in the village of Deir Istiya, in the occupied West Bank, was set on fire. The walls were spray-painted with hate messages in Hebrew, including “Arabs out” and “revenge for blood spilled in Qusra”. The latter message...

At first glance Nermine Hammam’s work looks like beautiful Japanese prints hung on the lower floor of The Mosaic Rooms, a renovated Victorian townhouse that is now an art gallery in West London. But if you step closer and really study the images, hidden behind the blossoming flowers and...

“Many people ask me, how come you like jazz and you’re an Arab? And I tell them it’s because I’m an Arab” Reem teases, laughing at her own joke. She’s referring to the make-up of her band; it’s unusual to see an Arabic singer with British jazz musicians. In...

The protests in Tunisia in 2010 may have swept away former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and 23 years of autocratic rule, but they have replaced him with a coalition government under which several political factions battle to create their own vision for the country. In what has proved...