Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Rachel Williamson
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Will Biden drag Sunak into Houthi quagmire as Bin Salman struggles to break free?
The US and the UK launched a fourth wave of joint air strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen on 24 February with the intention to degrade the movement’s capabilities and thereby deter what they have called illegal aggression against commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The previous round of...
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‘Genocide without any doubt’ in Gaza, says UN special rapporteur
Food, water, sanitation and other basic needs are in unprecedented short supply for over one million Palestinians who have fled across the Gaza Strip to the territory’s southern city of Rafah, a UN special rapporteur has told Anadolu. “More than one million people are concentrated in Rafah, having fled...
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The toxic painkillers taken by Egypt
In recent weeks, video clips have spread on social media of many Egyptians, women and men, old and young, complaining of poverty, hunger and weakness as a result of the tsunami of high prices that is sweeping their country. This is a result of a virulent economic and financial...
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Israel in the Hague: One Palestinian’s fight for justice
Ismail Ziada is a Palestinian living in The Hague, the city of international law and the site of a historic legal case against Israel for genocide, brought by South Africa in the International Court of Justice. Ismail is no stranger to court cases. He filed a lawsuit against Israeli...
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Netanyahu is ill-equipped for war and peace
After World War II, liberation movements often resorted to asymmetric warfare. This approach was chosen for its strategic benefits. It allowed the weaker side to challenge and, sometimes, defeat much stronger foes through customised tactics and psychological warfare. Lessons from history Imperialist powers were confronted with asymmetric warfare, with...
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What is Israel’s plan for the day after the war?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government’s plan for the day after the war is simple: “Gaza will be neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan.” The plan includes a buffer zone between the Gaza envelope — populated areas of the Negev within 7 km of the nominal border —...
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Israel is exploiting the war in Gaza to deny Palestinians access to their West Bank land
Abla Lafi is 59 and from the village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. She is passionate when speaking about her olive groves, which the Israeli army and illegal Jewish settlers prevent the villagers from harvesting. “This is our own land,” she said defiantly....
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How do Palestinians in the West Bank view the truce and the prisoner exchange deal?
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are following the truce in Gaza with great interest and hope. This is due primarily to their wish to help stop the destruction and genocide against their fellow Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. They feel powerless to get humanitarian aid and medicine into...
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I fear for Gaza from Egypt
It is no longer a secret that Israel, with its many and diverse arms around the world, is making a great effort to convince Egypt to “temporarily” accept refugees from Gaza. The idea predates the current war, but it has been resurrected. Every day, its range of consumption expands...
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Israel-Palestine: the calls for jihad and impending wave of foreign fighters
On 7 October, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement that is the de facto government of the Gaza Strip, launched an aerial and ground offensive on Israel. Mohammad Deif, the leader of the Hamas military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, condenamed the attack “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”. The movement said that its...
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Israel: the toxic ex of world powers
Romance, support, care, manipulation, gaslighting and betrayal. These are the stages of any toxic relationship where the couple ends up blocking the other from their life, marking the end of a bond they once shared. By now, you would have already envisioned a specific couple, and I hope the...
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Israeli barbarism begets barbarism: The 7 October war
In a vacuum, the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel, in which civilians – including women, children, and the elderly – were killed in the hundreds, leading to a total death toll of around 1,300 was brutal, immoral and unjustified. While the IDF never confirmed reports of infant...
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If Ukrainians had taken the steps Palestinians just took, would they be seen as heroes?
As we watch the events unfolding in the besieged Gaza Strip, where resistance fighters have been battling for the rights of their people which have been usurped from them for over 50 years, I couldn’t help but recall walking through London and coming across the Russian Embassy, where activists...
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Is Iran afraid of the Baloch awakening?
As the Baloch mark the first anniversary of Zahedan’s Bloody Friday on 30 September, Tehran has stepped up its efforts to curb the protests in Balochistan. The Baloch activists had given a call to commemorate the massacre with a two-day protest. To prevent this, the Iranian regime responded by increasing the military presence in the...
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Will the UN high mass make a difference?
This week marks the beginning of the traditional high-level debate in the framework of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. World leaders will meet to discuss a number of issues ranging from peace and security, to climate change, development and global governance. Of course, the...
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The new vision for economic collaboration with Iran will benefit Pakistan hugely
Pakistan and Iran have many cultural, linguistic and historical ties, as well as geographical linkages and economic potential. They are in the same region and share a 909-kilometre border. They are both rich in natural resources with enormous economic potential, key geostrategic locations with the ports of Chahbahar and...
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The secret of Saudi’s football spending spree
WATCH: Fans embrace Neymar’s arrival in Riyadh after signing for Saudi club Al Hilal...
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Is Saudi Arabia-Israel normalisation close, or still a long way off?
In a move worthy of analysis, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the appointment of a non-resident ambassador to the Palestinian Authority last week. He will also assume the position of Consul General in the occupied city of Jerusalem. The appointee is also the Ambassador to Jordan, and has...
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Explained: How Lebanon stops Israel violating its border
‘I’ll kill the Arabs’: MK prompts her 2-year-old to make chilling remark...
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Geopolitical realities in the Middle East and the political mandate of the IAEA
Geopolitical events in the Middle East, as well as the recent visit of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, to Iran for nuclear programme talks, contribute to how quickly the world is changing. With rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia brokered by China,...
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Are UN resolutions effective?
On 25 July, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution titled “Promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech” which lists and condemns a number of religion-related acts of violence and hatred. In particular, the text “Strongly deplor all acts of violence against...
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Muslim slaves taken to Brazil were expensive, and worked to earn their freedom
During our trip to Salvador in May, we tried to contact people and institutions with information about the 19th-century slave uprisings in the Brazilian state of Bahia, especially the Malê Revolt (January, 1835). The Beninese Yoruba heritage is remarkable in the Bahia Candomble and its Brazilian religious syncretisms. Benin...
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United in solidarity: the mission of the Latin Palestinian Forum
We often hear voices raised in solidarity with the Palestinian people coming from organisations and individuals committed to ending Israeli apartheid in occupied Palestine. However, it is interesting that the first meeting of the Latin Palestinian Forum’s Board of Trustees pointed out divisive issues. Connecting solidarity for more effective...
