Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Motasem A Dalloul
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Hamas under the hold of the PA, Israel in the occupied West Bank
Security services of the Palestinian Authority (PA) have arrested several Hamas members and activists in the occupied West Bank and put them in Al-Junaid Prison in the city of Nablus. They were later moved to the notorious Jericho Prison, which has been known to hold Hamas members and leaders, as…
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After three decades, Hamas remains a popular democratic movement
On Tuesday, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, announced that it has carried out the first stage of its internal elections, choosing Local Shura Councils in a “democratic and fair” process. The movement is now choosing members of the General Shura Council which appoints the members and head of the…
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Palestinians are sceptical about Abbas’s decree on public freedoms
Earlier this month, the Palestinians factions agreed that Palestinian Authority, PLO and Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas must issue a decree to order the easing of public freedoms in the occupied territories and stop political detentions and prosecutions. The decree was issued on Saturday. According to Wafa, the PA’s official news…
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Palestinian elections are intended to keep Hamas in check
In 1993, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) signed a peace agreement with Israel, ending a six-year uprising against the Zionist state’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. The peace endeavour, backed by the international community, aimed to crack down on the Palestinian resistance, mainly that of the…
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Turkey is a ‘strategic partner’ of the new Libyan authority
At the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva on Friday, 75 members, including former statesmen and tribal leaders, elected a small Presidential Council and a prime minister to prepare the ground for fair and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 24 December. Those so chosen signed pledges that they…
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Nothing has changed in US policy, so why is the PA building links with Biden?
On 6 December 2017, the then US President Donald Trump formally recognised the Palestinian city of Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation state of Israel: “Today, we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital:” He then relocated the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the Holy City.…
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Will the new Tunisia government reshuffle go ahead?
On 16 January Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Michichi announced his plan to reshuffle his government despite strong rejection from President Kais Saied. He then proposed 11 new ministers and obtained a vote of confidence in them in parliament. The Speaker of the Parliament Rachid Ghannouchi, head of Ennahda Movement, sent…
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Will a fourth election in under two years solve Israel’s political crisis?
On 22 December, the Knesset — Israel’s parliament — dissolved itself after failing pass a state budget, triggering yet another General Election. The country has been in political chaos for years, and now faces its fourth election in less than two years on 23 March. The current government was formed…
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Are the Palestinians really going to the polls?
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on Friday to hold parliamentary, presidential and Palestinian National Council elections on 22 May, 31 July and 31 August respectively. This was the first such decree in fifteen years for the Palestinians in the occupied territories including the Gaza Strip, West…
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Ten years after the revolution, Tunisia’s president is polarising the country
It is ten years since the people of Tunisia took to the streets and started what became known as the Jasmine Revolution which led to the ouster of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. The revolution triggered a range of similar uprisings across the Arab world, with…
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Israel is weaponising the Covid-19 vaccine against the Palestinians
In violation of all religious norms as well as international laws and conventions, Israel is weaponising the Covid-19 vaccine against the Palestinians, whose land, homes and rights are under constant threat from the occupation state. The Israeli Health Ministry began its vaccination programme on 20 December. Officials including Prime Minister…
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There is a big difference between Arab and Turkish normalisation with Israel
Media reports revealed last month that Turkey has been working to restore relations with Israel. On 9 December, Al-Monitor said that Ankara had selected a new ambassador to Tel Aviv, Ufuk Ulutas, 40, who studied Hebrew and Middle Eastern politics at Israel’s Hebrew University. “We would like to bring our…
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Military drill of Gaza-based Palestinian factions through Israeli eyes
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the military wings of Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip carried out the first-ever joint military drill simulating threats of various scenarios of possible Israeli attacks on the coastal enclave, which has been under a strict Israeli siege since mid-2007. A masked spokesman of the Joint…
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Do normalisers know or even care about Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians?
Some journalists from the UAE and Bahrain have visited Israel and praised the occupation state and its people. Expressing their admiration, they claimed that the Israelis are peaceful and teach peace to their children from an early age. They visited Tel Aviv with their Foreign Ministry minder, Lorena Khateeb, and…
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Racism and secularism have changed Sudan’s treatment of Syrian refugees
Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, around 5.6 million Syrians have been forced to leave the country. A further 6.2 million have been displaced internally due to the war conditions and systematic ethnic cleansing by the regime as well as regionally and internationally-backed militias which targeted certain…
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Is it necessary for Israel to investigate the shootings of Palestinian children?
Last Friday, Israeli occupation forces shot dead 13-year-old Palestinian boy Ali Abu Alia during a protest against the construction of an Israeli settlement in the village of Al-Mughayyir, north of the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that Ali was “shot with live rounds in…
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The dissolution of Israel’s parliament could save Netanyahu from prosecution
Last week, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed a bill to dissolve itself. While the ruling Likud was allegedly not in favour and so did not support it, the bill was passed anyway, by a vote of 61 to 54. Now it must go through the Knesset Committee and three more…
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Normalisation? Israel only cares about Muslim prayers when there are economic benefits
Since 13 August, when the normalisation deal between the UAE and Israel was announced, people from both countries have sought to benefit from new opportunities. There are, though, other goals within the reality of normalisation. According to US President Donald Trump, who brokered the UAE deal and a similar one…
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The PA has turned its back on the people of Palestine
The Palestinian Authority’s Civil Affairs Minister announced on Tuesday the resumption of security cooperation with Israel. Hussein Al-Sheikh claimed that this was a “great victory” and “achievement” for the PA. He even went on television and thanked the Palestinian people for this “victory”. He is deluded. On 15 November, 1988,…
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Saudi Arabia has used the Muslim Brotherhood to exploit the religion of Islam
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s Council of Senior Scholars issued a defamatory statement against the Muslim Brotherhood, claiming that the movement is one of the worst organisations and a threat to Islamic orthodoxy. The Brotherhood, claimed the Saudi scholars, “…is a terrorist group that does not represent the approach of Islam……
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Turkey’s strategic victory in Nagorno-Karabakh
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Tuesday that Azerbaijan and Armenia had signed a peace agreement, ending six weeks of fierce fighting between the two countries over Nagorno-Karabakh. The mountainous region is internationally-recognised as part of Azerbaijan but has been occupied and run by ethnic Armenians since 1994. The agreement…
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Besieged Gaza is living in a boiling pot
While the world was busy with the American elections, it is not paying attention to what is going on in the besieged Gaza Strip and its surroundings. Early this week, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to urgently help by sending testing kits…
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Does Biden come bearing gifts for the Palestinians?
Sources in Ramallah revealed recently that the Palestinian Authority maintained contact with Democratic US President-elect Joe Biden throughout his campaign. Direct communication channels were apparently established by a Palestinian American businessman. “We wanted to let Mr Biden know that we are willing and ready to talk,” explained one PA official.…
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Macron uses freedom of speech as an excuse to insult Islam and Muslims, but it’s not the reason
The growing rift between Muslim nations and France over President Emmanuel Macron’s offensive attack on Islam last month, which was followed by an attack on Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), has led to him appearing on Al Jazeera to tell the Muslim world that he was misunderstood. From where…