Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Rassem Bisharat
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Reshaping the geographic space in the vicinity of East Jerusalem: Dynamics of spatial isolation and the fragmentation of the urban fabric
Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights and Targeted Villages affirms that the on-the-ground realities in the area extending between Al-Sawahra al-Sharqiya, Abu Dis, and Al-Eizariya, along with the surrounding small and scattered Bedouin communities, indicate a gradual transformation in the nature of the demographic and political geography. This…
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How Israel uses the prisoners’ allowances issue to distort the Palestinian narrative
Over recent years, the issue of allowances paid to Palestinian prisoners has shifted from an internal social welfare policy aimed at supporting a segment of society directly affected by Israel’s detention system, into one of the most influential tools in the political and media conflict surrounding Palestine. Rather than being…
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Venezuela along the lines of the Monroe Doctrine: US hegemony and the struggle for influence in the Western Hemisphere
Venezuela is currently facing an extremely sensitive historical turning point, amid escalating debate over whether the United States is reviving the Monroe Doctrine in a contemporary formulation aimed at reimposing its traditional hegemony over the Western Hemisphere. Recent military and political developments between Washington and Caracas, accompanied by shocking statements…
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Israeli violations during the olive harvest: A war on Palestinian land and identity
The olive harvest in Palestine is one of the oldest and most significant national and social rituals, deeply linking Palestinians to their land. However, in 2025, it turned into a season of fear and conflict rather than joy and celebration. Israeli attacks escalated to unprecedented levels, reflecting a deliberate field…
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Che Guevara and Palestine: When the Latin American revolution met the spirit of Palestinian resistance
More than half a century ago, on 9 October 1967, the rifle of the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara fell silent in the Bolivian mountains. Yet the echo of his words has remained alive across the Global South, from the Andes to the refugee camps of Gaza. Today, 58 years…
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Bolivia after the elections: How the rise of the right could reframe the Palestinian cause
A political shock with diplomatic ripples In October 2025, Bolivia stunned observers at home and abroad by electing Rodrigo Paz, a center-right candidate from the Christian Democratic Party of Bolivia (PDC), as its new president—ending nearly two decades of leftist rule under the Movement for Socialism (MAS). Yet the shock…
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Netanyahu at the UN: The “Protection of Christians” narrative collapses under the weight of facts
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked widespread controversy during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly last week when he claimed that Christians made up 80 per cent of Bethlehem’s population under Israeli control, but that the number dropped to less than 20 per cent after the Palestinian Authority…
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The olive harvest season in the West Bank: Roots of resilience in the face of Uprooting
With the arrival of autumn in Palestine, the olive harvest returns as an annual event that transcends its purely agricultural nature. It is a celebration of land and identity, a deeply rooted social and economic ritual, and at the same time, a continuous struggle waged by Palestinians against occupation policies…
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Al-Hadidiya village: A Palestinian story of resilience in the face of marginalisation and forced displacement
Nestled deep in the northern Jordan Valley, where time appears to stand still and life unfolds at a slower rhythm, the Palestinian hamlet of Al-Hadidiya stands as a stark symbol of enduring Palestinian suffering. In this neglected corner of the occupied West Bank, about 110 residents cling to their land…
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A global army to liberate Palestine: An investigative reading of Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s speech
In one of the most daring and controversial political interventions to echo through the halls of the United Nations in decades, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in his address to the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2025, called for the creation of an international army that transcends the traditional balance…
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Paraguay’s fluctuating positions on Palestine: Between interests and justice
The influence of nations is not always determined by size or population, but by their ability to take decisions that resonate internationally. Paraguay, a small state in South America with about seven million inhabitants, has unexpectedly found itself entangled in Middle East politics. Over the past decade, it has oscillated…
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Targeting Al-Baidar: Palestinian rights group confront Israeli settler violence and incitement
Al-Baidar Organisation for the Defense of Bedouins and Targeted Villages has emerged as a primary target of extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank. With its ongoing work documenting the legal and humanitarian violations faced by Palestinian Bedouins, the organisation has come to be seen by settlers as a real…
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Visas as weapons of power: The Brazil–US rift and the future of the United Nations
In recent weeks, the contours of an escalating diplomatic crisis between Brazil and the United States have become increasingly visible to the public. This crisis cannot be separated from the nature of the current international system, which remains dominated by unipolar hegemony, nor from the tools of coercion that Washington…
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A rolling diplomatic crisis: How Brazil changed the rules of the game with Israel
The political roots of the crisis During President Lula’s first term (2003–2010), Brazil succeeded in shaping an independent foreign policy, distancing itself from the traditional polarisation between West and East. This approach rested on four core principles: autonomy in political decision-making free from external pressure, the promotion of a multipolar…
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Europe between principles and interests: The case of Kaspar Veldkamp
As deportations, land confiscations, and settler violence—shielded by the Israeli army—escalate in the West Bank, and as Gaza endures widespread destruction in an asymmetrical war whose primary victims are Palestinian civilians, European capitals have seen massive demonstrations. Protesters wave Palestinian flags and call for justice and freedom. This wave of…