Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Ramzy Baroud
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First Gaza, then the world: The global danger of Israeli exceptionalism
While many nations occasionally resort to a “state of exception” to deal with temporary crises, Israel exists in a permanent state of exception. This Israeli exceptionalism is the very essence of the instability that plagues the Middle East. The concept of the state of exception dates back to the Roman…
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On the menu: How the middle powers sacrificed Gaza to save themselves
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney sounded more like a populist leader than a former central banker during his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 20 January. Bemoaning the “fading” of the rules-based order, Carney delivered a surprisingly blunt speech. “The old order is not coming back,” he…
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Not a Trump anomaly: The Board of Peace and America’s crisis-driven power plays
The history of American power is, in many ways, the history of reinventing rules—or designing new ones—to fit US strategic interests. This may sound harsh, but it is a necessary realization, particularly in light of US President Donald Trump’s latest political invention: the so-called Board of Peace. Some have hastily…
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After the headlines fade: Gaza, abandoned while the genocide persists
A colleague, an editor at a widely read outlet that centered Gaza throughout the two-year genocide, recently voiced his frustration that Gaza is no longer a main focus in the news. He hardly needed to say it. It is evident that Gaza has already been pushed to the margins of…
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A war without headlines: Israel’s shock-and-awe campaign in the West Bank
A shock and awe. The phrase is apt in describing what Israel has done in the occupied West Bank almost immediately following the events of 7th October 2023, and the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza. In her book The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein defines “shock and awe” not…
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Gaza as a linchpin: Six reasons why Netanyahu is prolonging conflict in the Middle East
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has concluded his visit to the United States, returning home after reportedly securing yet another round of political backing from Donald Trump. As with previous encounters, the meeting provided Netanyahu with diplomatic cover and strategic reassurance, reinforcing Israel’s ability to sustain its military posture in…
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The architecture of extermination: Why the Gaza genocide is premeditated and repeatable
Suppose we accept the fiction that none of us expected Israel to launch a full-scale genocide in Gaza—a premeditated campaign to erase the Strip and exterminate a significant portion of its inhabitants. Let us pretend that nearly eighty years of relentless massacres were not a prelude to this moment, and…
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The three narratives: Gaza as the last moral frontier against Israel’s policy of annihilation
Three dominant narratives contend for the future of Gaza and occupied Palestine, yet only one is being translated into consequential action: the Israeli narrative of domination and genocide. This singular, violent vision is the only one backed by the brute force of policy and fact. The first narrative belongs to…
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If Gaza resistance ends: What history tells us about the Palestinian fate
US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ is reportedly set to be announced before the year’s end. This news coincides with increasing reports that the US administration is serious about pushing forward the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. However, many critical questions remain unanswered. How can a governing council…
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Deliberate contradiction: How the West plays dumb and kills people in Gaza
First, let’s dissect this puzzle. On 29 February 2024, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent shockwaves when he informed lawmakers in the House Armed Services Committee that over 25,000 Palestinian women and children had been killed by Israel in Gaza up to that date. Austin, the military chief of the…
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UNSC 2803: The US-Israeli scheme to partition Gaza and break Palestinian will
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 is destined to fail. That failure will come at a price: more Palestinian deaths, extensive destruction, and the expansion of Israeli violence to the West Bank and elsewhere in the Middle East. The resolution, passed on 14 November 2025, was a consolation prize to…
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The new kill zone: Gaza’s borders after the ‘ceasefire’
The so-called Gaza ceasefire was not a genuine cessation of hostility, but a strategic, cynical shift in the Israeli genocide and ongoing campaign of destruction. Starting on 10 October, the first day of the announced ceasefire, Israel transitioned tactics: moving from indiscriminate aerial bombardment to the calculated, engineered demolishing of…
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Polishing genocide: Israel’s desperate war to erase history
Israel’s allies worldwide are desperately scrambling to help Tel Aviv re-establish a convincing narrative, not only concerning the Gaza genocide, but the entire legacy of Israeli colonialism in Palestine and the Middle East. The perfect little story, built on myths and outright fabrications — that of a small nation fighting…
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Verdict from the people: Why the Gaza Tribunal is about accountability, not symbolism
In the face of the international legal and political systems’ paralysing silence and utter failure to hold Israel accountable for its genocide in Gaza, international civil society has refused to stand idly by. Instead, it continues to forge a path, presenting essential working models for what true justice in Palestine…
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Beyond the ‘unbreakable bond’: Is the US reclaiming the wheel from a self-destructive Israel?
Has Donald Trump’s sharp rebuke of Israel in his 23 October Time Magazine interview fundamentally changed the calculus in the Middle East? His comments immediately sparked two opposing views: for some, his position represents the clear demarcation of a genuine shift in US foreign policy; for others, it is nothing…
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The unvanquished will: Gaza’s triumph of spirit against the architecture of genocide
For the last two years, my social media algorithm has been relentlessly dominated by Gaza, particularly by the voices of ordinary Gazans, displaying a blend of emotions that centers on two core principles: grief and defiance. Grief has characterised life in Gaza for many years, a consequence of successive Israeli…
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‘You cannot fight the world’: The hidden meaning behind Trump’s warning to Israel
A single, candid statement by US President Donald Trump during a Fox News interview on 9 October may illuminate the true calculus behind Israel’s decision for a ceasefire in Gaza, following a relentless, two-year genocidal campaign that has tragically killed and wounded nearly a quarter of a million Palestinians. “Israel…
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The defeat of Israel and the rebirth of Palestinian agency
For decades, the prevailing notion was that the ‘solution’ to the Israeli occupation of Palestine lay in a strictly negotiated process. “Only dialogue can achieve peace” has been the relentlessly peddled mantra in political circles, academic platforms, media forums, and the like. A colossal industry burgeoned around that idea, expanding…
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From Sabra and Shatila to Gaza: The vicious cycle of US-Israeli ‘peace’ ploys
The history of Zionism is fundamentally one of deception. This assertion is critically relevant today, as it contextualises the so-called ‘Trump Gaza proposal,’ which appears to be little more than a veiled strategy to defeat the Palestinians and facilitate the ethnic cleansing of a significant portion of Gaza’s population. Since…
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Meloni’s Gaza challenge: The people vs. Netanyahu’s cronies
What is happening in Italy regarding Gaza is unprecedented in the history of solidarity between the country and any other international cause anywhere. A popular uprising is underway, the consequences of which are likely to alter, not only Rome’s position on the Israeli genocide in the Strip, but the country’s…
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The point of no return: Why accountability in Gaza is a global imperative
Every day brings new indictments for Israel. The early accusations of genocide by South Africa are now quickly becoming an accepted legal definition among international bodies and governments alike. The latest indictment came from the United Nations Human Rights Council. “The Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have had and…
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The people’s push: How grassroots solidarity reshaped Spain’s foreign policy
In several influential European countries, solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian people is finally translating into action. Though such action may seem belated to the tens of thousands of lives lost in the genocide-stricken Strip, it is, nonetheless, critical for the future of the Palestinian cause. The political shift underway…
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More than a boat: The Gaza Flotilla as a symbol of a growing global movement
One needs only to examine the actions and rhetoric of the Israeli government to fully appreciate the profound significance of the solidarity flotillas bound for Gaza. As the latest and most significant of these efforts, the Global Solidarity Flotilla sets sail, Israel’s hostile discourse has intensified, articulated most forcefully by…
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A global awakening: How people power is reshaping Western policy on Palestine
Is it finally happening? Is the West turning against Israel? Or are we, whether motivated by hope or driven by despair, simply engaging in wishful thinking? The matter is not so simple. Last July, a significant number of countries and organizations signed the ‘New York Declaration,’ a strong statement that…