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The Oslo agreement was signed in 1993 on the basis of a mutual agreement that political negotiations would replace the use of force. An exchange of letters between Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin ensured mutual recognition between the two sides in
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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharons repeated assertions that he opposes Hamas inclusion in parliamentary elections and will not facilitate the holding of these elections should Hamas participate, have only one practical effect. That is to play i
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In his speech at the Pentagon on September 22, President Bush repeated his warning against America withdrawing its troops from Iraq. "Our withdrawal from Iraq would allow the terrorists to claim an historic victory over the United States," he said.
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At the end of this month Israel will be dedicating its largest desalination plant on the Mediterranean Sea. The facility is located in Ashkelon, not far from the northern border of the Gaza Strip.
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In The Second Coming, the Irish poet W. B.
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It appears that General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistans military dictator since October 1999, is on a mission to legitimize Israel: and he is going about it with the zeal of a new convert.
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The level of hatred permeating the Middle East conflict runs so deep that it often blinds those involved in it. Indeed, both Israeli settlers and Palestinian refugees have more in common than either side will ever admit to.
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There is an Internet site that displays extraordinarily gruesome photographs taken by American soldiers in Iraq. Apparently, the owner of the site exchanges access to pornography for soldiers sending him their war pictures.
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General Musharraf became the first Pakistani leader to address American Jewry this week. In his speech, Musharraf declared, "Pakistan has no direct conflict or dispute with Israel.
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The Basra police chief let the Persian cat out of the bag. Gen.
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A regularly updated roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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Jordans King Abdullah made a landmark gesture in Washington by calling for Muslims and Jews to strive for "mutual forgiveness and reconciliation".
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A synagogue stripped of its Torah scroll, Holy Ark and even the Mezuzah on the doorframe, is no longer a synagogue. It is not a "holy place", unless, perhaps, hundreds of years of history have imbued the structure with some special significance.
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One day Joha, the hero of popular Arab humor, sold his home. The price that he demanded was ridiculously low and he had only one condition: "on one of the walls there is a nail that I am much attached to.
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The two-and-a-half-year-old invasion of Iraq has been terribly mismanaged. Most Americans were oblivious to it because Iraq is "over there" and the amenities of the average American were not directly affected.
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A regularly updated roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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On September 15 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon disregarded the opinions of the 60-year-old United Nations (UN) and other international peacekeeping bodies when he stated, moments into his speech before the fully convened UN General Assembly, t
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The settlements issue did not have to become synonymous with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After all, this dispute between two peoples over one land began long before settlements were built in the post-1967 era, and there is no guarantee it won
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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is by all accounts expected to receive a standing ovation at the UN General Assembly this week for carrying out his unilateral disengagement plan. He will be lauded, as he already has been in some quarters, as a
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It has recently come to my attention that the Bush administration is redesigning its Nuclear Policy to allow first strike against perceived threats or to bring existing wars to a conclusion.
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The historic meeting between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Israel in Turkey last week is a bold and courageous step that could open up a much-needed dialogue between non-Arab Islam and the Jewish state.
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After 38 years, Israels soldiers are due within the coming days to begin withdrawing from their heavily fortified positions along Gazas frontier with Egypt, handing over responsibility to Egyptian troops.
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The day before yesterday the Haaretz headline screamed: "Doctors: Arafat died of Aids or poisoning". Aids appeared in first place.
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There should be no doubt regarding the gravity of the central and often intense relationship between the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the internal and external politics of Arab and Muslim nations, regardless of their geographic immediacy and l
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A regularly updated roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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The issue of the Rafah crossing is one of the thorniest of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel views it primarily as a security issue, while the Palestinian Authority (PA) sees it as an issue of sovereignty with huge economic and political imp
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This piece is directed to the Palestinian public and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
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President Bush has evaded Cindy Sheehans question, "What was the noble cause that my son died for?" But he provided a partial answer on the day that the New Orleans levees gave way.
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"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: / A time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted; / A time to break down and a time to build up..." The book of Ecclesiastes has no truer follower than A
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A regularly updated roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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It is probably the fault of the media. Or maybe the failure of the public education system.
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Now that Israel has successfully withdrawn from Gaza, without violent resistance by the settlers or Palestinian provocation, both sides can either seize the moment and build toward peaceful coexistence or allow themselves to be trapped in continuin
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The withdrawal of Israeli troops and the evacuation of Jewish settlers from Gaza, after 38 years of occupation, is the most recent proof of the limits of military power, even when that power is overwhelming. Now is the time to take stock of the les
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For a long time the last refuge of scoundrels was "patriotism". Now its "the war on terror".
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As the campaign begins for the September 7 Egyptian elections, it is a good time to assess the era of 77-year-old President Hosni Mubarak who has ruled the most powerful Arab country for almost a quarter-century.
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As part of efforts to bring about democracy and freedom to the more restrictive countries of the Arab world, the Bush administration is cozying up to Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi after he reneged on terrorism and gave up trying to acquire weapo
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The self-congratulatory statements could be heard reverberating from Washington after the release of 404 Moroccan prisoners-of-war held by the Algerian-backed Polisario separatist rebels fighting for the independence of the Western Sahara region. T
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A regularly updated roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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The Palestinians are on the verge of a great moment in their history as Israel pulls all its forces and settlers, unilaterally, out of Gaza making this part of Palestine free for the first time since 1948.
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The decision to implement a unilateral disengagement was made following the failure of negotiations with the Palestinians and the outbreak of the second intifada at the end of September 2000. However, the Middle Eastern dynamic is currently proving
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Although terrorism has always existed, the Al Qaeda kind is a new phenomenon. September 11 undoubtedly marked a turning point in Al Qaedas terrorist activities.
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Long ago, I saw my father try to dissuade the painting of a sandstone monument, green and white for a religious celebration. He extolled the beauty and value of the original historic architecture, but did not succeed before the onslaught of misperc
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When bombs explode in London killing dozens of commuters they attract far more attention in the United States than explosions in Egypt that kill even greater numbers of innocent civilians. Why is it that American television programs, media commenta
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August 18, 2005 - a milestone in the history of the State of Israel. This was the day on which the settlement enterprise in this country went into reverse for the first time.
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Dear Settlers "Dear" in the most literal sense.
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Israels unilateral disengagement from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip has brought both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to a crossroad in the Middle East road map. A wrong turn at this point could result
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Any one who bothers to read the Saudi Five Year Plan, Saudi budget, and reporting of the Saudi Monetary Agency is also aware that real money is going into structural economic reform, to job creation, and to correcting the past underfunding of infra
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Sir Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, the Methuselahs of the rock n roll world, who in the past have managed to remain mostly apolitical in their choice of lyrics, suddenly find themselves delving into geopolitics - and big-time criticism - wit
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"If Iran wanted, it could make Iraq hell for the United States." So said Iraqs deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Al Bayatilast February.
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It is rather peculiar how the Palestinian Authority opted to get engaged in a process that was solely aimed at excluding it, and how the debate has completely shifted from Israels real motives to internal Palestinian quarrels over post-withdrawal
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Since 1958, Tehran-Baghdad relations have been marked by intense hostility. Even the American invasion of 2003 did not seem to change much as the first Iraqi government to assume office after the ouster of Saddam branded Iran the number one enemy o
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One matter that should be very clear from the Cindy Sheehan experience is that neither George W. Bush, nor his administration, nor his supporters in the public media or the countryside are about to admit that the Iraq war of conquest was a mistak
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A picture engraved in memory: Ariel Sharon in the Knesset. Around him the storm is raging.
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A regularly updated roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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Ever since Israel occupied the Gaza Strip after the 1967 War, which it provoked, its native Palestinians have suffered unimaginable terror and humiliation. Packed into overcrowded refugee camps or impoverished towns they have been forced onto the m
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As you know, I think the bombers and plotters wrecking the spirit of London are scum - men without hearts or heads who, after they have been properly tried, should be put away for life. I think most Muslims in Europe have heard the call to attend t
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A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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On August 2, big alarm bells went off in the national media echo chamber, and major US news outlets showed that they knew the drill. Irans nuclear activities were pernicious, most of all, because people in high places in Washington said so.
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The deaths of US Marine reservists from Ohio last week have stirred up an already-building resentment to the Iraq War by some Americans. More and more politicians are calling for the Administration to bring the troops home.
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It was all expected: both the massacre and the questions it raised. But behind the easy questions that practically posed themselves, much more difficult and unasked questions are hidden.
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Despite the current focus on Israels planned withdrawal from Gaza, there is no territorial issue as likely to sabotage hopes for peace between Israelis and Palestinians as the final status of Jerusalem. This issue, while not in the international h
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Islamic history reports that the Prophet Mohammed told once told his prominent companion Ammar Bin an Yasser that Ammar would be killed by the "oppressive party". Ammar was killed later in the battle of Safeen by the caliph Muawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan
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The BBCs striking revelations regarding the secretive and disconcerting British role in making an Israeli nuclear bomb possibly deserves more than a quick pause and a few dozen news reports. It obliges a thorough investigation coupled with a compl
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Enhancing Israeli security was one of the reasons that most settlements were established. The settlements have failed completely in this regard and have instead become a major focus of violence.
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London terrorist bombings elicited familiar response: Islamic organizations and Muslim communities in Europe and North America condemned the terrorist attacks and stressed the dissonance between the deplorable acts of the terrorists and the humane
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The Israeli settlements and the Israeli settlement expansion process in the occupied Palestinian territories have been and will continue to be the most problematic aspect of the conflict and the greatest obstacle to making peace, even when the two
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At this moment, Israel resembles a patient before an operation. Like every major operation, it is dangerous.
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I made aliyah 27 years ago from New York after being very active for 10 years in the Zionist youth movements Young Judea. I grew up with a pluralistic attitude toward Jewish life in Israel.
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A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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What makes a man take his own life and the lives of dozens of innocent people: mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, the heroes and heroines of everyday life?
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As commentators we can deal with evil by simply repudiating it and demonizing those who enact it, then move on. That is not only the easy way out, but is a cop out.
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Final Agreement has at last been signed between the Sudanese junta led by General Omar Hassan Al Bashir and the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) chief John Garang, after a long and protracted civil war lasting over two decades and costing as
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I mourned with millions of people the victims of the London bombings at a time when I was still grieving the death of 100 Iraqi children in a suicide bombing in Baghdad.
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The world of Islam is on fire. Indeed, the Muslim mind is on fire.
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Israels withdrawal from Gaza is scheduled to begin only three short weeks from now. The effect on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will depend largely on how peaceful and orderly the withdrawal and transfer of power are.
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They are brothers-in-law who have known more secrets and embarked on more secret missions than anyone else in the world during the past quarter of a century. One is Saudi Arabias outgoing ambassador to the United States, the other, his successor i
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The Lebanese like to reiterate they have learned the lessons of the 15-year civil war and that the risk of another fratricidal conflict is unthinkable. But in spite of its recent tumultuous history, Lebanon is sitting atop an over-active political
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Despite the new Iraqi governments democratic founding, the governing coalition is still held together largely by the self interest of the two dominant parties, the Kurds and the Shias.
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So where is the ceasefire? Will Hamas and Islamic Jihad torpedo the withdrawal from Gaza?
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Those unfamiliar with the real reason why the Camp David 2000 Barak-Arafat summit failed can find the answer in one word: Jerusalem. Solving the issues around this holy city proved to be the toughest problem for Palestinian and Israeli leaders.
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A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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Israels planned withdrawal from Gaza in August amid the resurgence of violence by Palestinian radicals will likely sharpen the debate on security arrangements.
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Though it happened just over 20 years ago, todays media has all but forgotten that Afghanistans Taliban was largely the creation of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a hard-drinking, party-loving Texas congressman who helped funnel bil
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US President George W. Bush has a problem.
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One cannot effectively address the intricate subject of political, social and economic reforms anywhere in the world, without unwittingly stumbling on issues of relevance to freedom of speech and the sovereignty of the media. A free media is both a
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On visits to Muslim-majority nations and in interactions with Muslim citizens elsewhere, I am often surprised at a lack of knowledge about real Muslim heroes.
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All the world saw the horror on TV: a Palestinian boy lying on the ground, unconscious. An Israeli soldier bending over him, not knowing what to do.
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A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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US President George W. Bush spoke to the nation on Tuesday, the eve of the one-year anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people, as his approval ratings hit an all-time low.
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Most people under 40 have no idea what investigative journalism is. Those old enough to remember Watergate and Deep Throat think it started with Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward and their book All the Presidents Men.
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The situation in Iraq is somewhere between Jon Stewarts "Daily Show" calling it "Mess-o-potamia" and US President George W. Bush and his teams rosy analysis declaring all is well.
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Amnesty International recently condemned "war crimes in Iraq and mounting evidence of the torture and ill-treatment of detainees in US custody in other countries...." Amnesty said that given its power and reach, the United States risked being "a gl
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As expected, the summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ended in failure.
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The White Houses crusade for democracy, as US President George W. Bush sees it, has produced "a critical mass of events taking that [Middle Eastern] region in a hopeful new direction."
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A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
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The experience was almost surrealistic: I was in a hall in the center of Gaza, facing some 500 people, all of them bearded men, nearly all of them Hamas militants. The Hamas movement officially opposes the very existence of the State of Israel, and
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The scenery in the Old City of Jerusalem has changed in the last few months. After more than four years, we are once again seeing groups of tourists from abroad touring the city.
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Hamas electoral success since the first round of local elections held in Gaza last December has signaled a dramatic shift in the way the main Islamist movement in the Occupied Territories is perceived both nationally and internationally. Of equal
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While the war on terrorism debate focuses on extremists who excuse violence, not enough is done to support those Arabs and Muslims who denounce terrorism and extremism within their own community.
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A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
