( Middle East Monitor ) – In his anticipated speech at the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is expected to, once more, make a passionate plea for the recognition of Palestine as a full member. Abbas’ ‘landmark speech’ would not be the first time that the President of the […]
How Coverage of Palestinians and Israel in NYT and Western Press Obscures the Occupation
( Middle East Monitor ) – While US and western mainstream and corporate media remain biased in favour of Israel, they often behave as if they are a third, neutral party. This is simply not the case. Take the New York Times coverage of the latest Israeli war on Gaza as an example. Its article […]
Despite Abraham Accords, Palestine is a deeply rooted emotional, cultural and spiritual issue for Arabs and Muslims
( Middle East Monitor ) – It seemed that it was all but a done deal: Israel was finally managing to bend the Arabs to its will, and Palestine was becoming a marginal issue that no longer defined Israel’s relations with its neighbours. Indeed, normalisation with Israel was, well, normal, and the Arabs, it seemed, […]
Palestinians ‘are not animals in a zoo’: On Kanafani and the need to redefine the role of the ‘victim intellectual’
Years before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, US media introduced many new characters, promoting them as ‘experts’ who helped ratchet up US propaganda, ultimately allowing the US government to secure enough popular support for the war. Though enthusiasm for war began dwindling in later years, the invasion of Iraq had begun with a […]
Chomsky on Israeli Apartheid, Celebrity Activists, BDS and the One-State Solution
( Middle East Monitor ) – This is, said Italian socialist Antonio Gramsci, the “interregnum”; the rare and seismic moment in history when great transitions occur, when empires collapse and others rise, and when new conflicts and struggles ensue. The Gramscian interregnum, however, “is not a smooth transition”, for these profound changes often embody a […]
The Death of a Thousand Cuts: This is how Israel is illegally Annexing the Palestinian West Bank
(Middle East Monitor ) – Israel’s Supreme Court has decided that the Palestinian region of Masafer Yatta in the southern hills of Hebron is to be appropriated entirely by the Israeli military and that the local population of more than 1,000 Palestinians is to be expelled. The court’s decision on 4 May was hardly surprising. […]
Right of return: The Nakba (1948 Calamity) is back on Palestinian Agenda
( Middle East Monitor ) – For nearly three decades, Palestinians were told that the Nakba – or Catastrophe – is a thing of the past. That real peace requires compromises and sacrifices; therefore, the original sin that has led to the destruction of their historic homeland should be entirely removed from any ‘pragmatic’ political […]
Will Israel be held accountable? In conversation with the new UN Special Rapporteur in Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud and Romana Rubeo | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – The position of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, has never been occupied by a woman. Until 1 May, 2022, that is. Francesca Albanese, an international lawyer and respected academic, […]
Constantly on the verge of Collapse: How Palestinians became the Linchpin of Israeli Politics
( Middle East Monitor) – Israel’s coalition government of right-wing Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, is on the verge of collapse, which is unsurprising. Israeli politics, after all, is among the most fractious in the world, and this particular coalition was born out of the obsessive desire to dethrone Israel’s former leader, Benjamin Netanyahu. While Netanyahu […]