- February 24, 2025
Middle East
Tearing down the Idols of Colonialism: Why Tunisia, Africa Must Demand French Apology
Tunisia, and many African countries, must demand a French apology. By doing so, they declare ‘loudly and intelligibly’ that they are finally free from the ‘white man’s (selfish and racist) values,’ and that they truly see themselves as equal.
‘Wolf Warrior Diplomacy’: Israel’s China Strategy in Peril
Between Washington’s precise demands to Israel to keep Beijing at bay, and the latter’s aggressive ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy, Israel is facing a stark choice: remaining loyal to a fading superpower or diving into the uncharted waters of an emerging one.
Why Israel Fears the Nakba: How memory Became Palestine’s Greatest Weapon
There can never be a just peace in Palestine until the priorities of the Palestinian people – their memories, and their aspirations – become the foundation of any political process between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
How We Became Refugees: The Day My Grandfather Lost His Village in Palestine
It isn’t easy to construct a history that, only several decades ago, was, along with every standing building of that village, blown to smithereens with the very intent of erasing them from existence.
Arabs, UN Must Move to Swiftly Protect the Status of Palestinian Refugees
Palestinian refugees must not have to choose between forfeiting their legal and unalienable right in their own homeland and accepting a life of perpetual degradation and uncertainty.
100 Years of Shame: Annexation of Palestine Began in San Remo
Perhaps, it is time for the Palestinian leadership to understand that groveling at the feet of those who have inherited the San Remo Resolution, constructing and sustaining colonial Israel, is never and has never been the answer.
Hating Arabs as a Common Ground: Why Israel’s Coalition Government is Likely to Survive
Knowing of Netanyahu’s anti-Palestinian, anti-peace, and anti-international law long legacy, we should have all the clarity needed to understand that no just peace can possibly be achieved when Netanyahu is still at the helm.
Spreading the Virus of Occupation: Spitting as a Weapon in the Hand of Colonial Israel
Israel will never relent without international intervention. Without being held accountable, even a deadly virus will never alter the habits of a vile military occupation.
Solidarity in the Age of Coronavirus: What the Arabs Must Do
Let COVID-19 be that opportunity that will allow all nations, especially in the Middle East, to take a stance against war, hunger and disease, to share their wealth and to extend the hand of solidarity to Africa and our historic allies throughout the world.
Tunisia Leads the Way: New Report Exposes Israel’s False Democracy
Now, even that false pretense of democracy is lost, likely forever. According to the very democracy standards created by Western institutions, Tunisia is now the only democracy in the Middle East.
Technology of Death: The Not-so-Shocking Report on Israeli Weapons Exports
Far greater focus should be placed on the fact that Israel is, itself, a notorious human rights violator that should be held accountable for its crimes against Palestinians, who are often used as guinea pigs in the testing stage of Israel’s technology of death.
Death at the Greek Border: Syrian Refugees Should not Be Used as Political Pawns
Syrian refugees deserve respect, rights and safety. Equally important, they should not be used as pawns in a costly and dirty political game in which they have no interest or choice.
A Terrifying Scenario: Coronavirus in ‘Quarantined’ Gaza
What is needed is a fundamental and structural change that would emancipate the Palestinian healthcare system from the horrific impact of the Israeli occupation.
‘The Donald Trump I know’: Abbas’ UN Speech and the Breakdown of Palestinian Politics
By Ramzy Baroud A precious moment has been squandered, as Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, had the chance to right a historical wrong, by reinstating Palestinian national priorities at the United Nations Security Council on February 11, through a political discourse that is completely independent of Washington and its allies. For a long time, Abbas […]
Breaking with Washington: Arabs and Muslims Must Take a Stance for Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud A negotiated solution to the ‘Palestinian-Israeli conflict’, at least the way envisaged by successive US administrations, has failed. Now, Palestinians and their allies would have to explore a whole new path of liberation that does not go through Washington. It is easy to place all the blame on the current US administration, […]
Crisis and Opportunity: The ‘Deal of the Century’ Challenge for Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud After several postponements, US President, Donald Trump, has finally revealed the details of his Middle East plan, dubbed ‘Deal of the Century’, in a press conference in Washington on January 28. Standing triumphantly beside Trump, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, must have surely understood that the timing of the announcement, only a few weeks […]
Pipeline or a Pipedream: Israel, Turkey Hydrocarbon Conflict is Brewing in the Mediterranean
By Ramzy Baroud Massive natural gas discoveries off the eastern coast of Israel and Palestine is slated to make Tel Aviv a regional energy hub. Whether Israel will be able to translate positive indicators of the largely untapped gas reserves into actual economic and strategic wealth is yet to be seen. What is certain, however, […]
In the Name of ‘Israel’s Security’: Retreating US Gives Israel Billions more in Military Aid
By Ramzy Baroud Billions of US taxpayers’ dollars will continue to be funneled into Israel in the next fiscal year, and for many years in the foreseeable future. Republican and Democratic Senators have recently ensured just that, passing a bill aimed at providing Israel with $3.3 billion in aid every year. The Bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Senator […]
The ‘Great Game’ is Afoot: Killing Soleimani Reflects US Desperation in the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud & Romana Rubeo By killing top Iranian military commander, Qasem Soleimani, American and Israeli leaders demonstrated the idiom ‘out of the frying pan into the fire.’ US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are both politically and legally embattled – the former has just been impeached and the latter is dogged […]
Money, Power and Turf: Winning the Middle East Media War at Any Cost
By Ramzy Baroud It is hardly surprising to see Middle Eastern countries at the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index, as the worst violators of freedom of the press. But equally alarming is the complete polarization of public opinion as a result of self-serving media and, bankrolled by rich Arab countries, whose only goal is […]
A Lesson for the Palestinian Leadership: Real Reasons behind Israel’s Arrest and Release of Labadi, Mi’ri
By Ramzy Baroud The release on November 6 of two Jordanian nationals, Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Mi’ri from Israeli prisons was a bittersweet moment. The pair were finally reunited with their families after harrowing experiences in Israel. Sadly, thousands of Palestinian prisoners are still denied their freedom, still subjected to all sorts of hardships […]
The Last Lifeline: The Real Reason behind Abbas’ Call for Elections
By Ramzy Baroud The call by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for elections in the Occupied Territories is a political ploy. There will be no true, democratic elections under Abbas’ leadership. The real question is: why did he make the call in the first place? On September 26, Abbas took on the world’s most important […]
Administrative Torture: Free Heba al-Labadi, a Jordanian Citizen in Israeli Prison
By Ramzy Baroud On August 20, Heba Ahmed al-Labadi fell into the dark hole of the Israeli legal system, joining 413 Palestinian prisoners who are currently held in so-called administrative detention. On September 26, Heba and seven other prisoners declared a hunger strike to protest their unlawful detention and horrific conditions in Israeli prisons. Among the prisoners is Ahmed Ghannam, […]
On Racism and ‘Wild Beasts’: Why Israel Besieges Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud The Israeli Apartheid Wall, which is being built largely on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, once more underscores the ugliness of military occupation. As such, it truly epitomizes the nature of Israeli apartheid and also delineates the siege-driven, isolationist mentality that dominates the ruling-class thinking in Israel. Even years before the establishment […]
Apartheid Made Official: Deal of the Century is a Ploy and Annexation is the New Reality
By Ramzy Baroud Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is moving quickly to alter the political reality in Palestine, and facing little or no resistance. On September 10, Netanyahu declared his intentions to annex swathes of Palestinian land adjacent to the Jordan River, an area that covers 2,400 square kilometers, or nearly a third of the Occupied West Bank. […]
Israeli Folly: How Netanyahu Cemented the Hezbollah-Hamas-Iran Alliance
By Ramzy Baroud To serve his limited political agenda, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, may have unwittingly unified various resistance groups in the Middle East after years of separation and discord. On August 24-25, Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to strike several targets of parties he perceives to be allies of Iran in the region. The unprecedented […]
Israa Ghrayeb’s ‘Honor Killing’ Should Be Our Wake-up Call
By Ramzy Baroud The death of Israa Ghrayeb has ignited furious reactions regarding so-called “honor killings” in Palestine and throughout the Arab world. It has also caused confusion with respect to the jurisprudential foundation of such crimes, which are often committed in the name of protecting a family’s honor. Israa, a 21-year-old makeup artist from the town […]
The War Ahead: Netanyahu’s Elections Gamble Will Be Costly for Israel
By Ramzy Baroud On September 1, the Lebanese group Hezbollah struck an Israeli military base near the border town of Avivim. The Lebanese attack came as an inevitable response to a series of Israeli strikes that targeted four different Arab countries in two days. The Lebanese response, accompanied by jubilation throughout Lebanon, shows that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin […]
Jewish Settlers Rule the Roost in Israel, but at What Cost?
By Ramzy Baroud Jewish Israeli settlers are on a roll as they rampage across the occupied Palestinian West Bank. While settler violence is part of the daily routine in Palestine, the violence of recent weeks is linked directly to the General Election in Israel, scheduled to be held on 17 September. The previous election, just four months […]
Bassam Shakaa: The Making of a Palestinian ‘Organic Intellectual’
By Ramzy Baroud It would be unfair to claim that Palestine has not produced great leaders. It has, and Bassam Shakaa, the former Mayor of Nablus, who passed away on 22 July at the age of 89, was living proof of this. The supposed deficit in good Palestinian leadership can be attributed to the fact […]
