The crisis represented by the Abbas resignation may actually signal the end of the era in which hopes for peace were predicated on the division of the land between an Israeli and a Palestinian state. If this is the case, argues EI’s Ali Abunimah, we will have to embrace a “South African solution”—bringing Palestinians and Israelis together in one political entity where they enjoy equal rights and freedom. We should be under no illusion that embracing the one-state solution is an easy choice for Palestinians, let alone Israelis. On the contrary, it entails a political movement of immense complexity and against powerful opposition. Yet this struggle may soon, if it has not already, become unavoidable. Read more about 10 years after Oslo, question of single state unavoidable
Immediately after the 11 September 2001 attacks, American news channels repeatedly aired footage of a tiny group of Palestinians celebrating. Israel’s supporters tried to spin these images as proof that the Palestinians were a barbaric people and as much enemies of the US as of Israel. For Palestinians — who naturally shared the horror of the rest of the world — it was a particularly anxious moment, and many feared that after the thousands killed in the attacks, they would be the “second victims” of September 11. Two years on, EI’s Ali Abunimah asks whether the worst fears were realized and if the attacks made any fundamental difference to the dynamics of the Palestine conflict. Read more about The Palestinians after September 11
The Arab states are in desperate need of reform. Their hundreds of millions of people — the vast majority of them under age 30 — lack the basic freedoms and opportunities that they crave. EI’s Ali Abunimah considers the vexing problem of what can be an agent for much needed change. Some believe that an external “shock,” like the US invasion of Iraq can shake things up for the better. Abunimah believes its urgent that we search for a more positive and constructive path to democracy. Read more about Regional Focus: The problem of Arab reform
US President George W. Bush’s administration is considering economic measures to prevent Israel from building its separation wall in the occupied West Bank. The proposed punishment is to subtract from US loan guarantees for Israel $1 for every dollar Israel spends on building the barrier inside the West Bank. However, the administration appears to be split. Israel, meanwhile has announced plans for major new settlements in the occupied territories. EI’s Ali Abunimah examines the pre-election political scene in Washington, and assesses the chances of real US pressure on Israel to move forward on the road map. Read more about Washington is being toothless on Israel
“I’m an Israeli at heart,” U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told the Israeli Knesset in a recent address. DeLay made his trip just as the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers were in Washington to meet with President Bush. DeLay took with him a message of total opposition to Bush’s road map and to a two-state solution. Calling on Israel to ignore the ceasefire that has brought calm to Israel’s streets for the first time in years, DeLay urged Israel to continue killing Palestinians. EI’s Ali Abunimah takes a look at DeLay’s visit, the Christian Zionist movement he represents, and how they work against peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Read more about A call to violence
This morning’s performance by Gradstein was almost as ridiculous as my little joke above. When speaking on Weekend Edition Sunday about the thing that Israel is building through the West Bank to physically divide the land and annex vast swathes of the occupied territories to Israel, Gradstein said that Israel calls it a “fence” while Palestinians call it “the wall, with echoes of the Berlin wall.” EI’s Ali Abunimah calls NPR on Gradstein’s latest misrepresentations. Read more about NPR: Linda Gradstein and The Thing
The road map for Palestinian-Israeli peace is in trouble. With the Palestinian and Israeli leaders visiting Washington in quick succession, the Bush administration has a chance to stop it from running into a ditch. Palestinians have made significant progress toward fulfilling their commitments. Yet Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon shows little sign of reciprocating. The respected Association of Civil Rights in Israel has just issued its annual report condemning the army for abuses of Palestinians. “Most of the abuses,” the report states, “occur not as a result of operational necessity on the part of the army, but from vindictiveness on the part of soldiers, who receive implicit approval to denigrate the dignity, life and liberty of innocent Palestinians.” All of this goes on today. At the Aqaba summit in June, President Bush promised he would “ride herd” to keep the peace process on course. This is the time to show that wasn’t just Texas tough talk, and ensure that this rare opening is not lost. Read more about Does the road map for peace have a chance?
Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research was attacked by an angry mob when he recently held a press conference announcing the results of a poll conducted among 4,500 Palestinian refugees on the right of return. In his study, Shikaki reported that only 10 percent of Palestinian refugees would insist on returning to Israel and becoming citizens there. Supporters of Israel and others who want to disregard refugee rights in any solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict embraced the findings. How could it be that for decades everyone — not least the refugees themselves — mistakenly believed that granting rights to millions of Palestinian refugees was the key to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? How is it that
now a single, dubious poll threatens to make the entire problem disappear into a puff of smoke? EI’s Ali Abunimah takes a closer look to help clear the fog. Read more about Who said Palestinians gave up the right of return?
Despite the declaration of a unilateral Palestinian ceasefire with Israel, and the frequent meetings between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the “road map” for peace is in serious trouble. This is because the Bush administration, the plan’s chief sponsor, has allowed Israel to reinterpret it so that it is gutted of the elements that offered hope of progress. Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah explain in this commentary in The Financial Times. Read more about The holes in Israel's road map
Israel’ Ariel Sharon seems set to escape accountability once again for his role in the 1982 Beirut massacres of Palestinian refugees and Lebanese citizens. This is because the US has bullied Belgium into abrogating the law that gave victims a chance at justice. As EI’s Ali Abunimah explains, this setback is only part of a global effort by the Bush administration to derail international justice. Read more about From Brussels to Guantanamo, the US obstructs justice
