Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Motasem A Dalloul
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The scramble to earn a living in Gaza starts at school age thanks to Israel’s cruel siege
Unemployment soars in Gaza with 43% of the population out of work...
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Israel is doing nothing to help the PA to survive
Last week, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz visited the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and held two meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The meetings have provoked heated reactions across the political spectrum in Israel and the Palestinian factions Defending the meetings, Gantz revealed that they were “solely...
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Bennett is following the Israeli military and US agenda
According to Israel’s Channel 12 TV channel, in the middle of last month Prime Minister Naftali Bennett turned down a request by Defence Minister Benny Gantz to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Gantz was disappointed with Bennett’s decision, and insisted that it was not only important for him...
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Israel must be brought to account for its crimes against Palestinian children
More than 1.2 million Palestinian children in the occupied territories returned to their schools for the new academic year on 15 August. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), most of them have been counting down the days and looking forward to schools...
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The Rafah Border Crossing is a painful path for Gaza’s Palestinians
The journey from Cairo to Rafah can take up to three days due to the regular checkpoints and repeated luggage inspections. “The Egyptian officials show no respect, not even for patients or the elderly,”...
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Are the Palestinians in Gaza and Israel heading for a new confrontation?
Officials of Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip met on Monday afternoon to discuss how to deal with the Israeli procrastination over its pledges to fulfil the terms of the ceasefire that ended the occupation state’s 11-day offensive on the besieged enclave between 11 and 21 May. The...
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Will the Israeli army ever stop killing Palestinians?
With an increasing number of Palestinians being killed by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, warned soldiers recently against misjudgements when they use lethal force during clashes with Palestinians or when raiding their homes, farms...
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The PA only cares about Israel
Arabic news website Arabi21 recently revealed details of a trilateral deal signed between the US, Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), which lays down strict terms for monitoring the Palestinian mass media, education curriculum and reactivating the trilateral incitement committee which consists of the three governments. The document signed on...
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Gaza fishermen are caught between a rock and a hard place
'Life for a fisherman is always hard, everywhere, but under Israel’s military occupation it is even harder.'...
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Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah should reject Israel’s offer to be ‘protected tenants’
After a three hour deliberation, the Israeli High Court proposed a compromise on Monday that will see the postponement “for decades” of the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, occupied Jerusalem. The proposal stipulates that a member of each family would be granted a lifetime...
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Olympic athletes represent the real Arab attitude towards Israel
Two Arab athletes at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games made headlines when they pulled out rather than participate alongside their Israeli counterparts. A third, however, was celebrated by the occupation state. Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine withdrew rather than fight against Israel’s Tohar Butbul. Then Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool did the...
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Why does Israel fear a boycott by an ice cream company?
The giant American ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s announced last week that it is going to stop selling its products in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Such sales, it believes, are “inconsistent” with its values, the company said on its website. “We...
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Bashar Al-Assad is presiding over millions of displaced persons and refugees
Over 600 people, including clergymen, MPs, political figures, and army officers, have attended the swearing-in ceremony of Bashar Al-Assad at the presidential palace in Damascus. He is now serving a fourth 7-year term of office after beating two little-known candidates in the May presidential election with 95.1 per cent...
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Two months after Israel’s military offensive, Palestinians in Gaza are still living through the trauma
The medical and psychological impact of the Israeli offensive is ongoing for many people, as is the physical impact of losing homes and infrastructure necessary for a normal life...
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Hamas and Saudi Arabia: A return to good relations?
Last week, Saudi Satellite TV Channel Al Arabiya surprised its audience when it hosted Chief of Hamas Political Bureau abroad Khaled Meshaal. The last time a Hamas official was hosted by this TV Channel was six years ago, before the new phase of souring relations between Saudi Arabia and...
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Another Palestinian couple has been separated due to Israeli restrictions
Mohammad Dweekat has been living since 2007 with his mother and two sisters in an old rented house in Rafah, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip. The 21 year old has no income as neither he nor his mother or sisters have jobs. The family home is...
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In Germany, burning the Israeli flag is a problem, but killing Palestinians isn’t
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll met with the German Ambassador, Susanne Wasum-Rainer, on Monday along with visiting German parliamentarians. Roll thanked the German guests for their country’s strong support for Israel during its major military offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza from 10-21 May. Germany’s unlimited support and cooperation...
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What more than surrender does the UAE want from the Palestinian Authority?
During his visit to the UAE, Israeli Foreign Minister and Alternate-Prime Minister Yair Lapid inaugurated the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi, met with his counterpart Mohammad Bin Zayed and signed an agreement on finance and trade cooperation. Lapid celebrated his visit and described the inauguration of the embassy as “historic.” “We are standing here today because we chose peace...
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Why did the PA kill Nizar Banat?
Today at dawn, Palestinians across the occupied territories were shocked to learn that a well-known activist in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Nizar Banat, had been killed by Palestinian Authority security forces. The PA Governor in Hebron, Jibreen Al-Bakri, issued a statement about the killing. He claimed that...
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The Palestinian resistance is still battling to end Israeli siege of Gaza
The head of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar met with UN Peace Process Envoy Tor Wennesland this morning. The two discussed the situation in the occupied territories, including Jerusalem, the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip. Following the meeting, Sinwar told a press conference that...
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The ultranationalist Flag March was a recruiting sergeant for the Palestinian resistance
Ultranationalist, right-wing Israeli settlers carried out their “Flag March” in Jerusalem yesterday. Due to security concerns, the route was changed from previous years, and they passed the Jaffa Gate of the Old City rather than the usual Damascus Gate. Also as usual, the settlers chanted “Death to the Arabs”...
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Can Naftali Bennett handle Netanyahu’s legacy?
Israel has a new prime minister for the first time since 2009. That’s when Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu took office for the second time. It was not easy for him to leave office yesterday, as he faces indictments for fraud and corruption. In his final speech as prime minister...
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Jordan’s guardianship of Jerusalem’s holy sites has to be questioned
The recently Israeli military offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza prompted a response that shocked the occupation state and many people around the world. Not only were the resistance groups in the besieged territory able to hit targets deep inside Israel, and saw Ben Gurion Airport closed as a...
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Israeli political opportunists are using an Arab party to oust Netanyahu
Last week, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid told President Reuven Rivlin that he had formed a coalition government to replace the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the aftermath of the fourth inconclusive General Election in just over two years. Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. The new coalition...