Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Daud Abdullah
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A fitting award for the right man, at the right time
This year’s King Faisal International Award for Service to Islam has been presented to Sheikh Raed Salah. The award is hugely significant. At a time when the Israeli desecration of Islamic sanctuaries in Palestine has reached unprecedented levels, it has a special meaning both for the recipient and the cause…
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Egypt’s revolution two years on
Two years on from its 25 January Revolution, Egypt has taken significant steps towards establishing a new order. Several institutional pillars have been installed, foremost among which are the election of the first civilian president and investiture of an upper house of parliament, two-thirds of whose members were elected. Had…
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France’s record in the Middle East rules out any constructive role in Mali
Western military interventions in the Muslim world are at best muddled and at worst fraudulent. In 2003, the US led an invasion of Iraq for reasons that changed like the weather. When it was not “to prevent human rights abuses”, it was “to destroy weapons of mass destruction” and regime…
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Samer Al-Issawi: indomitable in the face of death
At the end of 2012, there were 4,656 Palestinian political prisoners being held in Israeli prisons and detention centres. That figure includes 178 administrative detainees, 11 women and 177 children. In recent weeks, it is two hunger-strikers, Samer Al-Issawi and Ayman Esharawna, whose plight has grabbed global attention. The personal…
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Ethnic cleansing is the only way for Israel to have a “united” Jerusalem
When Benjamin Netanyahu launched his election campaign this week he taunted the world community and cocked a snook at international law with a defiant pledge to build more settlements in occupied Jerusalem. The move was universally condemned. Recognising that this was more than electoral demagogy, though, no one was prepared…
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Dirty war against Egypt’s democracy evokes memories of Palestine post-2006
The most common explanation for the political impasse in Egypt is that it stems from an ideological tussle between Islamists and liberals. That is, however, only one side of the story. The other side shows, more vividly, a struggle between a nation yearning for democracy and a minority whose objective…
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Egypt’s revolutionary constitution
On Saturday, Egyptians will go the polls for the fifth time since the overthrow of the Mubarak dictatorship. The constitutional referendum marks another step in advancing the gains of their 25 January revolution. From the very first day after the former dictator’s departure a fierce political debate erupted about which…
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Choose between isolation and acceptance
Cracks are appearing in the diplomatic wall that has long protected Israel from international censure. Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu was given a reality check this week when he met German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin. Her message was plain and simple; choose between isolation as an apartheid outcast, or acceptance…
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Obama tells Palestinians to choose between crumbs from the table or freedom
On the 65th anniversary of the UN partition resolution which allotted to a minority of Jews most of the land of Palestine, the Palestinians have returned to the world body. Still without their oft-promised state, they seek only recognition as a non-state member, a status barely higher than that of…
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The attack on Gaza is one political blunder too many by Netanyahu
On 12 October we referred to an alert by the Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, that his people will pay the price for Israel’s early elections. Even then, the daily attacks on the Gaza Strip had already started. They were viewed as an attempt to instigate an all-out confrontation with Hamas.…
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No hope of change in the Middle East
Hope and change have been the defining slogans of Barack Obama’s political career. In his inimitable way he has now convinced the American electorate twice that he is capable of ushering in a new era in their country’s history. In the Middle East, however, and Palestine in particular, there is…
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Abbas invites the wrath of Palestinian refugees
There is nothing like the anger of a Palestinian refugee told that his right to return is compromised. Mahmoud Abbas was reminded of this following his recent interview with Israel’s Channel Two TV. When asked if he wanted to live in Safad, the village in the Galilee where he spent…
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Gaza witnesses the beginning of the end of the siege
Until the eleventh hour it seemed that the visit would be derailed. On Monday, Israeli jets carried out three waves of attacks on Gaza, raising security concerns over whether the Emir of Qatar should actually go to the enclave. However, Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa was not deterred. He was determined…
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The unreported tragedy of Palestine’s olive harvest
The olive harvest has always been a time of heart-warming celebration in Palestine. It gives a sense of fulfilment to families and communities alike. In recent years, however, the occasion has been marked by bitter despoliation. Israeli settlers have waged a callous campaign against this economic lifeline of ordinary Palestinian…
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Palestinians will pay the price for Israel’s early election
In most countries, elections are purely internal affairs. In Israel, though, things are different; elections often have horrible consequences for the Palestinians living under the brutal Israeli occupation. The election in early 2013 will be no different. Reacting to Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of an early election, veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb…
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Civil war in Israel’s political establishment
A vicious war of words has broken out in the top echelons of the Israeli political establishment. The troika which forms Israel’s ruling coalition is turning in on itself. All this comes in the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s derisory speech at the UN, the build-up to the US…
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Once more, Hamas distinguishes itself
Confirmation that Khalid Meshaal will not contest another term at the helm of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has prompted much speculation about his likely successor. The transitional process has evidently been hindered after the political bureau moved its base from Damascus. The picture is, though, becoming clearer. For practical…
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After 19 years, the PLO admits Oslo failure
For the first time in 19 years the Palestine Liberation Organisation/Palestinian Authority has raised publicly the possibility of revoking the Oslo accords with Israel. Several press reports have quoted senior PLO officials, Yasser Abed Rabbo and Nabil Shaath, among them as saying that the annulment of the agreement was now…
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Let Netanyahu put his money where his mouth is
Efforts by Western politicians to help Benjamin Netanyahu climb down from his high horse are not working. He is outraged because they have refused to fix “red lines” for Iran. In the worst case scenario, the upshot of his threats will be a regional war. And it would be a…
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It’s spring time in Palestine
“The Palestine spring has begun and we are with what the people say and demand.” These were the words of President Mahmoud Abbas as he addressed an Arab League meeting on Wednesday. He conceded that the demands of protesters across the West Bank are legitimate, but can he deliver? Mr…
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Welcome to the Wild West Bank
Forget for a while the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Iran. Ignore the attendance of President Muhammed Morsi, the first visit to Tehran by an Egyptian president in 33 years. Forget the fact that he used the occasion to denounce Iran’s regional protégé, Syria, for its brutal repression of its…
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West Bank oil and gas discovery looks set to prolong already intractable conflict
When the United Nations General Assembly convenes for its annual meeting next month, the PLO/PA will make a request for “non-member state” status. Even if successful, the move would hardly be a game changer. In fact, things may get worse, not least because credible reports of the presence of oil…
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Obama’s reactions to developments in Egypt and Israel speak volumes
Two exceptional developments took place in the Middle East this week; neither Egypt nor Israel had witnessed anything like them before. Never in the past sixty years has a civilian president challenged the authority of the Egyptian military. Similarly, in Israel, no prime minister had, since 1948, demanded and acquired…
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Israel’s sinister attacks on Abbas
There is something very sinister about Israel’s attacks on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. They bring back memories of the campaign that preceded the demise of the late Yasser Arafat. Egged on by George Bush, Arafat’s nemesis, Ariel Sharon, had decided that the PLO leader was no longer a partner for…