Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Ramona Wadi
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Israel’s pre-emptive vengeance against its UN collaborator
Following yet another round of accusations, condemnations and reproach authored by Israel and the UN over Operation Protective Edge, the international body’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Makarim Wibisono, was refused entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territories last week. This move by Israel was in retaliation for the alleged bias…
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Security narratives and the force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners
Last year, as details of Palestinian prisoners embarking on hunger strikes in protest against human rights violations hit the news and social media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to pass a bill that would authorise the force-feeding of such prisoners deemed to be at risk of dying. The intention…
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Beware the Egyptian reconciliation overtures
The renewal of reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas are set to become synonymous with Egypt, highlighting a trend that has characterised the two-state negotiations. The Times of Israel has reported that as part of the country’s alleged commitment to that compromise, Egypt will be working to renew the moribund…
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Netanyahu’s sophistry continues to distort reality
With the recent BDS gains weighing heavily on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s mind, the rhetoric is once again emphasising a return to “peace talks” without preconditions. The latter premise, as usual, applies solely to the Palestinians. In a meeting with Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek, Netanyahu has availed himself…
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UNRWA anniversary prompts Israeli hostility and divergent narratives
In a recent gathering on the 65th anniversary of the founding of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon continued to call for a resumption of the compromised negotiations between Israel and Palestine; the UN chief utilised the prolonged existence of the agency as…
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Obama ensures perpetual compensation for any criticism of Israel
In a recent interview with Israel’s Channel 2 television, US President Barack Obama said that he envisages difficulties in providing the usual support for Israel in the international arena in future. Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements prior to the elections about his opposition to the two-state paradigm,…
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Hamdallah evokes innovation, compromise and misguided calls for equality
The Palestinian Authority’s penchant for hypocrisy disguised as creativity appears to be limitless. In a recent interview published in the Washington Post, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah gives an overview of all the concessions which the PA is ready to present to Israel in order to achieve a semblance of…
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Amnesty’s flawed report denies the reality of Israel’s colonial violence
Israeli and mainstream media have once again united in a chorus of righteous indignation following the release of Amnesty International’s report “Strangling Necks – Abductions, torture and summary killings of Palestinians by Hamas forces during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict.” That title –which makes a big mistake by describing Israel’s offensive…
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Venezuela strengthens diplomatic ties with Palestine
Anadolu Agency has reported that Venezuela’s diplomatic representation in Palestine will be elevated to full embassy status. The news was revealed in the wake of a visit to Venezuela by PA Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki, which resulted in the signing of 18 cooperation agreements related to trade, energy, agriculture, health,…
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US, Israel duplicity over the Iran nuclear deal
As the US intensifies its efforts to conclude a nuclear deal with Iran, it is also seeking to appease Israel by promising further military assistance to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in return for a retreat from the vociferous opposition to the framework. According to the Times of Israel,…
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Increasing pressure on Palestine to adhere to the two-state compromise
The Vatican has added its voice to the symbolic diplomatic gestures recognising Palestine as a state. A process that was reignited last October by Sweden and encouraged by the Palestinian Authority as a means of detracting from the colonising process accelerated by Israel, the latest move has once again become…
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The Nakba, the ICC and international complicity
As Palestinians commemorate the 67th anniversary of the Nakba and the atrocities upon which Israel’s settler-colonial state was established, the International Criminal Court is urging Israel to “cooperate” in preliminary investigations regarding war crimes committed against Palestinians last summer. Palestine’s belated accession to the ICC was met with intense displeasure…
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Does solidarity activism prioritise symbolism over resistance?
The military court at Israel’s Ofer Prison in Betunia has reinstated the prison sentences of five political detainees released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in 2011. The five detainees are Mahdi Assi from Nablus, Khaled Makhamreh and Nayef Shawamreh from Hebron, Wa’el Abu Jalboush from Jenin, and…
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New Israeli government entrenches colonial violence and exploitation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, announced close to the deadline on Wednesday night, has resulted in Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked being entrusted with the ministerial posts crucial to expanding Israel’s colonial framework. Intense discussions between Likud and the Jewish Home Party have resulted in Bennett serving as…
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‘Human shields’ rhetoric still not exhausted by Israeli officials
Departing from an allegation presented as fact, Israeli General Benny Gantz reverted to accusations of Hamas using civilians as human shields. The context for this perpetual narrative this time was Gantz’s visit to Nahal Oz, where a four-year-old settler child was killed allegedly by a mortar shell fired from Gaza.…
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Israel’s rhetoric and deliberate deprivation of Palestinians prepare for another military offensive
Reports in the Times of Israel have not yet exhausted their Iran-Hamas rhetoric. Coinciding with affirmations that Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif survived an Israeli assassination attempt during Operation Protective Edge last summer, Israel’s media has focused on the cross-border tunnel network, as well as Iran’s military and financial assistance…
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Latin America Summit on Israel highlights duplicitous stance in the region
Besides providing a safe haven for thousands of Cuban dissidents, as well as counter revolutionaries who attempted to overthrow the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro, Miami is currently hosting the Latin America Summit on Israel organised by the Israel Allies Foundation. The press release publicising the conference is a regurgitation…
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Ya’alon tries to absolve Israel of its role in regional violence
Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon has availed himself of yet another opportunity to embellish the already distorted history that has alienated the international community from reality in occupied Palestine. At a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Memorial Day, Ya’alon’s rhetoric combined loss, peace and security, framed against a backdrop of Operation Protective…
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Venezuela hosts 1st Latin American Congress on Palestinian Right of Return
Last Friday, Venezuela hosted the first Latin American Congress of the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine. The initiative brought together Palestinian solidarity activists from various countries across Latin America, including Chile, Cuba, Ecuador and Argentina. According to Palestinian ambassador Linda Sobeh Ali, the event strengthened Venezuela’s stance as the…
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Human trafficking and the scramble for political influence
Part of the political rhetoric regurgitated repeatedly since 2011 has been the expectation that the surge of African migrants heading towards Europe would decrease in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Four years later, the human trafficking industry is still producing tragic tales, the most recent being the drowning of…
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Egypt’s adaptation of the ‘War on Terror’
Egypt’s penal code has been updated to reflect Zionist terror and impositions. Following collaboration with Israel in destroying the tunnel network, the alleged “War on Terror” has now been extended by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi to Gaza. Individuals found guilty of tunnel construction or usage as regards the border…
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FIFA’s collaboration with colonialism
Two corrupt entities – FIFA and Israel, have teamed up to ensure another request from Palestine to an international organisation is ridiculed and rejected. As the Palestine FA stated its intention to submit a draft resolution to the FIFA congress in May calling for Israel’s suspension from the international body,…
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Iranian support forHamas highlights legitimacy of armed resistance against colonisation
Citing the Telegraph, Israeli media is once again fuelling speculation about the network of tunnels created by Hamas in Gaza – this time within the context of Iranian aid to the resistance movement. “Intelligence sources” have alleged that Iran has sent “tens of millions of dollars to help rebuild the…
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Palestine, the ICC and international complicity
‘As Palestine formally becomes a State Party to the Rome Statute today, the world is also a step closer to ending a long era of impunity and injustice’ is Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki’s triumphant statement. However, he fails to reflect the reality behind the ceremonial accession that was…