Breaking the siege on Gaza requires steadfastness, true, but political ingenuity as well.
By RAMZY BAROUD
Much can be said to explain, or even justify Hamas’ recent political concessions, where its top leaders in Gaza and Damascus agreed in principle with a political settlement on the basis of the two-state solution.
On June 25, Damascus-based leader of the Islamic group’s political bureau, Khaled Meshaal reitera
Growing numbers of children forever maimed, dismembered and killed by Israel are somehow disregarded by the world media.
By RAMZY BAROUD
His room is ready; the walls have fresh paint and my kids prepared a basket of chocolates and other treats to place beside his bed. They hung a poster on his door that has been decorated with colored pens and glitter that says “Welcome Shobhi!” I have taught them that “Sobhi” actually means the “mo
'Let justice flow like a river and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.'
By RAMZY BAROUD
"Gaza is not on the Pope's itinerary, nor will it be. There will be no change in these plans. But I'll say it very clearly, the Pope is absolutely not going to Gaza." Such were the astounding comments made by the Pope’s spokesman in Israel, Wadie Abunasser, prior to Pope Benedict XVI visiting Palestine and Israe
The situation in Gaza has reached harrowing levels, the injustices in the West Bank are being relegated as if non-consequential.
By RAMZY BAROUD
From a distance, the struggle between Hamas and Fatah appears commonplace, a typical third world country’s political scuffle over interpretation of democracy that went out of control, or simply a ‘power struggle’ between two political rivals vying for international aid and recognition. In fact, the conflict ma
Would the world community press the Israelis to embrace non-violence, had they endured such atrocities such as those witnessed in Gaza?
By RAMZY BAROUD
When one speaks of or advocates non-violence, does he promote such an idea because he believes that historically it has been a more effective means of liberation, or is it purely because he thinks that it is a more self-respecting means of struggle?
In recent history, many advocates of non-violence have been celebr
UNHRC appointed Richard Goldstone to investigate what is seen as 'grave' violations of human rights in Gaza.
By RAMZY BAROUD
Any variation of the words “Palestine” and “massacre” are sure to yield millions of results on major search engines on the World Wide Web. These results are largely in reference to hundreds of different dates and events in which numerous Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army or settlers. But refer
While Netanyahu is a right-wing ideologue, his position on the peace process hardly differs from his predecessors.
By RAMZY BAROUD
It seems that the Palestinian-Israeli peace process is in serious jeopardy. This is the immediate impression one gleans from media reports from Israel. Unlike Israel's Kadima and Labour party "moderates" prime minister-designate Benyamin Netanyahu is widely seen as an obstacle to negotiations aimed at facilitating a t
A third Intifada, in the eyes of many, could accomplish one vital task ..
By RAMZY BAROUD
Though the dust has settled in Gaza, the rubble from the untold number of demolished buildings, homes and mosques is far from being cleared away. Graves continue to receive victims, young and old alike, from Israel's most recent offensive. And in the midst of this, with the hopes of some respite and recovery on the horizon, ru
No other place in Palestine was as qualified to spawn a major Islamic movement as was the Gaza Strip.
By RAMZY BAROUD
While various Western governments are struggling to define a possible relationship with the Palestinian movement Hamas, some progressive and leftist circles are also uneasy regarding their own perception of the Islamic movement.
Some have even made the claim that Hamas is, more or less, an Israeli concoction. In fact, t
The more the PLO of the 1970's met conditions, the more Yasser Arafat rose to prominence.
By RAMZY BAROUD
The political outcomes of the Gaza war are yet to be entirely decided with any degree of certainty. However, the obvious political repositioning which was reported as soon as Israel declared its unilateral ceasefire promised that Israel’s deadly bombs would shape a new political reality in the region.
Why an alternative to the PLO, and why the fury over a call for a new leadership structure?
By RAMZY BAROUD
When Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal declared before a cheering crowd in Doha, Qatar, on January 28, the need for a new leadership, his words generated panic amongst leaders of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority as well as traditional Palestinian leadership elites stationed in various Arab capitals.
'Freedom or death,' is the popular Palestinian mantra; not simply words, but a rule by which Palestinians live and die.
By RAMZY BAROUD
My three-year-old son Sammy walked into my room uninvited as I sorted through another batch of fresh photos from Gaza.
I was looking for a specific image, one that would humanise Palestinians as living, breathing human beings, neither masked nor mutilated. But to no avail.
What has Israel won exactly, aside from the haunting images of dead Palestinian youngsters?
By RAMZY BAROUD
"We are all Hamas," screamed a scrawny Mauritanian, repeatedly, as he determinedly drew his face closer to a TV camera. Behind him, thousands more tunefully chanted similar words, chants that were heard in different Arabic dialects, in fact in many different languages all across the globe.
The passion soon spilled to the streets of Arab capitals, of course under the ever-vigilant eyes of Arab police and secret services.
By RAMZY BAROUD
In times of crisis, most Arabs tune in to Aljazeera television. Sometimes it's comforting for the truth to be stated the way it is, with all of its gory and unsettling details, without blemishes and without censorship. When Israel carried out massive air strikes against Gaza on Saturday, December 27, terrorizing an already host
Conquerors came and went, and Gaza stood where it still stands today.
By RAMZY BAROUD
It’s incomprehensible that a region such as the Gaza Strip, so rich with history, so saturated with defiance, can be reduced to a few blurbs, sound bites and reductionist assumptions, convenient but deceptive, vacant of any relevant meaning, or even true analytical value.
Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone hosts an exciting discussion on Ramzy Baroud's book: My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story. Watch: Part I, Part II, Part III
