We gather here at difficult times, when it seems that the Palestinian cause has been almost eliminated from the international agenda. The Western world is hailing the new “peace vision” of Sharon’s disengagement plan. The day this plan passed in the Israeli Knesset (“Parliament”) last week was hailed by Le Monde as a historical day. Who would pay attention to the two line news piece that on that same day, the Israeli army killed 16 Palestinians in Khan Younis? But Europe looks the other way, reassured of Sharon’s new vision of peace. Tanya Reinhart comments. Read more about Sharon's Gaza Pullout: Not Gonna Happen!
As Palestinians mourn the death of one of its most famous resistance leaders, high level political discussions this week were deemed “positive and constructive” with regard to maintaining stability and Palestinian unity. With the death on Thursday of Yasir Arafat, the man who more or less controlled the panorama of Palestinian national struggle against Zionism for the past forty years, the PA and resistance organisations are making strenuous efforts to appear united in the face of mounting uncertainty over the post-Arafat era. Earlier this week discussions took place between the leaders of thirteen Palestinian factions and organisations. Read more about Palestinians embracing post-Arafat era
Bush and Blair, seemingly jovial over Arafat’s passing, offered yet another non-starter for moving the region from its never-ending peace process to a “lasting peace.” It is said that one can fool some of the people, some of the time, but not all the people, all of the time. President Bush and Prime Minister Blair can’t possibly believe Palestinians will fall for the same tricks that have been thrown at them for years now. The substance of the most recent Bush-Blair statement on November 12 is nothing more that an unmasked and feeble attempt to fool all of the Palestinians, yet again. Read more about Play It Again Bush And Blair
Hamas has joined other Palestinian political factions in wishing the ailing Yasir Arafat a speedy recovery, but it is also readying for life after Arafat. The ailing Palestinian leader, though disliked by many Palestinians for a variety of reasons, still enjoys widespread respect among the wider public, including the powerful Islamist camp. Hamas realises, as, indeed, does the rest of the Palestinian political class, that the political diminution of Arafat and certainly his death would signal the end of an era and the beginning of a new one whose features and borders are difficult to determine now. Khalid Amayreh reports. Read more about Hamas prepares for post-Arafat era
Palestinian Authority officials and opposition leaders have vowed to safeguard national unity in the wake of leader Yasir Arafat’s death. Seeking to cope with the absence of the man who was at the helm of the Palestinian national struggle for nearly 40 years, leaders of the mainstream Fatah movement, which Arafat founded and led until his death, undertook not to allow his passing to impact the movement’s ability to keep up the struggle against Israeli occupation. Other Palestinians intellectuals are not so optimistic about the post-Arafat era. Some believe that the passing of Arafat will turn out to be “an earth-shaking event”. Read more about Palestinians to continue struggle
Two days in October 2004 may have brought new winds into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but no one can say which way they will blow. These stirrings came after eighteen months of political standstill, which led Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to initiate a plan for unilateral disengagement from Gaza and part of the West Bank. On October 26, the Knesset approved this plan by a margin of 66-44. The next night, suddenly, a new possibility raised its head. The health of Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), took a sudden turn for the worse. Read more about The Bag of Aeolus
Had we awakened to a John Kerry victory, anyone seriously concerned about the conflicts in Palestine and Iraq would have faced the stark reality that Kerry offered nothing substantially different from President George W. Bush in either situation. Yet that provides little consolation for seeing Bush re-elected, as the desire to see him defeated had little to do with support for Kerry. What many wanted was accountability - to see the author of so many disastrous policies thrown out. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah examines what Bush’s victory means for the Middle East. Read more about Bush, America and the Middle East
Although his political obituary was written again and again, Yasser Arafat displayed a legendary tenacity and an amazing ability to pull through at the eleventh hour, usually thanks to his remarkable skill in cobbling together coalitions and allies from very disparate backgrounds. Trapped by Ariel Sharon in the rubble of his Ramallah headquarters, though, Arafat was marginalized politically and virtually powerless militarily since the murderous Israeli attack on Palestinian cities in March-April 2002 that killed over 500 people and destroyed most of the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority. He departs the Palestinian and Middle Eastern political stage as a wraith of his former self, with no political heir apparent. Read more about Yasser Arafat, 1929-2004
In the early hours of October 28, as dozens of journalists, mid-rung political officials and curious onlookers milled around outside President Arafat’s Ramallah compound speculating on the health of their leader, one Palestinian reporter evoked critical minutes in the shaping of early Islam. Cynically, he recalled how the Prophet Mohammed’s followers disputed the succession only hours after he lay dead. It was an acknowledgement of the moment’s import (some believed the president had already passed away) and impending uncertainty. From this week’s Palestine Report, Charmaine Seitz reports. Read more about Arafat's departure brings uncertainty
The grave illness of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has given rise to frenzied speculation about what will happen after he is no longer on the scene. Much of this speculation is based on the false premise that the presence or absence of a single individual is a decisive factor in settling a complex, century-old conflict. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah argues that the “Arafat issue” is a major distraction, and examines who has a vested interest in the veteran Palestinian leader’s survival. Read more about Thinking beyond Arafat
