- February 24, 2025
Middle East
The Day After: What if Israel Annexes the West Bank?
By Ramzy Baroud Calls for the annexation of the Occupied West Bank are gaining momentum in both Tel Aviv and Washington. But Israel and its American allies should be careful what they wish for. Annexing the Occupied Palestinian Territories will only reinforce the current rethink of the Palestinian strategy, as opposed to solving Israel’s self-induced […]
‘World Refugee Day’: Palestinians Keep their Right of Return Alive through Hope, Resistance
By Ramzy Baroud The United Nations’ World Refugee Day, observed annually on June 20, should not merely represent a reminder of “the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.” It should also be an opportunity for the international community to truly […]
Resurrecting the PLO is Palestine’s Best Response to the ‘Deal of the Century’
By Ramzy Baroud Palestinian groups, Fatah, Hamas and others should not confine themselves to merely rejecting the Trump Administration’s so-called ‘Deal of the Century’. Instead, they should use their resistance to the new American-Israeli plot as an opportunity to unify their ranks. Leaked details of the ‘Deal of the Century’ confirm Palestinians’ worst fears: the […]
The Two Narratives of Palestine: The People Are United, the Factions Are Not
By Ramzy Baroud The International Conference on Palestine held in Istanbul between April 27-29 brought together many speakers and hundreds of academics, journalists, activists and students from Turkey and all over the world. The Conference was a rare opportunity aimed at articulating a discourse of international solidarity that is both inclusive and forward thinking. There was a […]
Notre Dame of Gaza: Our Mosques and Churches Are also Burning
By Ramzy Baroud As the 300-foot spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris tragically came tumbling down on live television, my thoughts ventured to Nuseirat Refugee Camp, my childhood home in the Gaza Strip. Then, also on television, I watched as a small bulldozer hopelessly clawed through the rubble of my neighborhood mosque. I grew […]
War Versus Peace: Israel Has Decided and So Should We
By Ramzy Baroud So, what have we learned from the Israeli legislative elections on April 9? A whole lot. To start with, don’t let such references as the “tight race” between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his main rival, Benny Gantz, fool you. Yes, Israelis are divided on some issues that are particular to […]
Russian Mediation: The Critical Messages of the Hamas-Fatah Talks in Moscow
By Ramzy Baroud The Russian-sponsored Palestinian unity talks in Moscow on February 11 were neither a success nor failure. Uniting Palestinian factions was not the primary objective of the Moscow conference, in the first place. Instead, the nature of the event, the host country and the explicit messages sent to Washington and Tel Aviv were […]
Enough of Western Interventions: Let the People of Venezuela Decide
By Ramzy Baroud American politicians from the two main parties have finally found something to agree upon. Democrats and Republicans alike want more intervention in Venezuela. “Now, despite [President Nicolas] Maduro, there is hope [in Venezuela]”, wrote Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, in USA Today. “These events [the current political instability in the country] are a welcome development of […]
Now Chad, then Mali: Why African Countries Are Normalizing with Israel
By Ramzy Baroud Forget the hype. Israel’s “security technology” has nothing to do with why some African countries are eager to normalize relations with Israel. What is it that Israel is able to offer in the technology sector to Chad, Mali, and others that the United States, the European Union, China, Russia, India, Brazil, South […]
The Moral Travesty of Israel Demanding Arab and Iranian Money for Its Own ‘Nakba’
By Ramzy Baroud The game is afoot. Israel, believe it or not, is demanding that seven Arab countries and Iran should pay $250 billion as compensation for what it claims was the forceful expulsion of Jews from Arab countries during the late 1940s. The events that Israel cites allegedly occurred at a time when Zionist Jewish militias […]
Early Elections: Who Will Dethrone ‘the King of Israel’?
By Ramzy Baroud “A historic mistake” is how Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu responded to calls for early elections last November. A few weeks later, he spoke, in exaggerated confidence of the “unanimous” agreement of his right-wing coalition that early elections must be held next April. So why the change of heart? Netanyahu may not be a good leader, […]
Is There a plot to Depopulate Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon?
By Ramzy Baroud An eerie video of a photo of one “Hajj Jamal Ghalaini” with a prayer on a backing track pops up occasionally on Facebook. The voice is that of an allegedly religious sheikh, praying for the well-being of the man in the photo for saving the Palestinian refugee youth of Lebanon by facilitating […]
From Central America to Syria: the Conspiracy against Refugees
By Ramzy Baroud Watching the ongoing debate between liberal and right-wing pundits on US mainstream media, one rarely gets the impression that Washington is responsible for the unfolding chaotic situation in Central America. In fact, no other country is as accountable as the United States for the ongoing chaos and resulting refugee crisis. So why, […]
Netanyahu’s Predicament: The Era of Easy Wars is over
By Ramzy Baroud When Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered his army to carry out a limited operation in the besieged Gaza Strip on November 12, he certainly did not anticipate that his military adventure would destabilize his government and threaten the very survival of his right-wing coalition. But it did, far more than the […]
It Is a New Era, but China’s Balancing Act Will Fail in the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud Although ties between Washington and Tel Aviv are stronger than ever, Israeli leaders are aware of a vastly changing political landscape. The US’ political turmoil and the global power realignment – which is on full display in the Middle East – indicate that a new era is, indeed, in the making. Unsurprisingly, […]
That Single Line of Blood: Nassir al-Mosabeh and Mohammed al-Durrah
By Ramzy Baroud As the frail body of 12-year-old Nassir Al-Mosabeh fell to the ground on Friday, September 28, history was repeating itself most tragically. Little Nassir was not just another number, a ‘martyr’ to be exalted by equally poor refugees in Gaza, or vilified by Israel and its tireless hasbara machine. He was much […]
Latest US-Israel Attack on Palestinian Refugees Will Prove Futile
By Ramzy Baroud The US government’s decision to slash funds provided to the UN agency that cares for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is part of a new American-Israeli strategy aimed at redefining the rules of the game altogether. As a result, UNRWA is experiencing its worst financial crisis. The gap in its budget is estimated at […]
Baroud in Al Jazeera – Palestine: Diary on an UNRWA Kid
Maintaining one’s dignity while living a dismal existence in a refugee camp is not an easy feat. My parents fought hard to spare us the daily humiliations that come with living in Nuseirat – Gaza’s largest refugee camp. But when I turned six, and joined the UNRWA-run Nuseirat Elementary School for Boys, there was no […]
Why Israel Demolishes: Khan Al-Ahmar as Representation of Greater Genocide
By Ramzy Baroud Like vultures, Israeli soldiers descended on Khan Al-Ahmar, on Sep. 14, recreating a menacing scene with which the residents of this small Palestinian village, located East of Jerusalem, are all-too-familiar. The strategic location of Khan Al-Ahmar makes the story behind the imminent Israeli demolition of the peaceful village unique amid the ongoing […]
The Veiled Danger of the ‘Dead’ Oslo Accords
By Ramzy Baroud Yossi Beilin is back. This unrepentant Israeli ‘peacemaker’ is like the mythical phoenix, continually resurrecting from its ashes. In a recent article in Al-Monitor, Beilin wrote in support of the idea of a confederation between Israel and Palestine. A confederation “could prevent the need to evacuate settlers and allow those interested to live in […]
When Illness Is a ‘Death Sentence’: The Victimization of Gaza Women
By Ramzy Baroud Hanan al-Khoudari resorted to Facebook in a cry for help when Israeli authorities rejected her request to accompany her three-year-old son, Louay, to his chemotherapy treatment in East Jerusalem. The boy is suffering from an ‘aggressive soft tissue sarcoma’. Israeli authorities then justified their decision based on a vague claim that one […]
Gaza without Cancer Medicine as Haley Blames Arabs for Washington’s Sins
By Ramzy Baroud On Sunday, August 12, news from Gaza was distressing: The Ministry of Health announced that it would no longer be able to treat cancer patients in the Israel-besieged Strip. “Colon and lung cancer, as well as lymphoma patients, cannot be provided with the necessary therapy now,” said Dr. Mohammed Abu Silmiya, director […]
Mission Accomplished: Why Solidarity Boats to Gaza Succeed despite Failing to Break the Siege
By Ramzy Baroud When Mike Treen, the national director of the Unite Union in New Zealand, arrived at the airport in the capital, Auckland, on 1 August, a group of people was anxiously waiting for him at the terminal with Palestinian flags and flowers. They hugged him, chanted for Palestinian freedom and performed the customary native […]
Mahmoud Abbas: Stop Exploiting Ahed Tamimi for Personal Gain
By Ramzy Baroud The father of 11-year-old, Abdul Rahman Nofal contacted me, asking for help. His son was shot in the leg during Gaza’s ‘Great March of Return’ protests. The Strip’s dilapidated health care system could not save the little boy’s leg, as it was later amputated. His father, Yamen, himself a young man from the Buraij […]
Jewish Nation-State Law: Why Israel Was Never a Democracy
By Ramzy Baroud The head of the Arab Joint List Alliance at the Israeli Knesset (Parliament), Aymen Odeh, described the passing of the racist Jewish Nation-state Law as “the death of our democracy.” Did Odeh truly believe that, prior to this law, he had lived in a true democracy? 70 years of Israeli Jewish supremacy, genocide, ethnic cleansing, […]
‘Deal of the Century’ is Not New and the PA Leadership is Not a Victim
By Ramzy Baroud Donald Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ will fail. Palestinians will not exchange their 70-year long struggle for freedom for Jared Kushner’s cash; nor will Israel accept even if there is a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank. The order of that anticipated failure is likely to go something like this: the […]
Stop the Wars to End the Refugee Crisis
By Ramzy Baroud Europe is facing its most significant refugee crisis since World War Two. All attempts at resolving the issue have failed, mostly because those charged with doing so have ignored the root causes of the problem. Furthermore, on June 11, Italy’s new Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, blocked the Aquarius rescue ship from docking […]
Palestine is Not occupied, It is Colonized
By Ramzy Baroud June 5, 2018, marks the 51st anniversary of the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. But, unlike the massive popular mobilization that preceded the anniversary of the Nakba – the catastrophic destruction of Palestine in 1948 – on 15 May the anniversary of the occupation is hardly generating equal mobilization. The unsurprising death of the ‘peace […]
My Home is Beit Daras: our Lingering Nakba
By Ramzy Baroud When Google Earth was launched in 2001, I rushed immediately to locate a village that no longer exists on a map, which now delineates a whole different reality. Although I was born and raised in a Gaza refugee camp, and then moved to and lived in the United States, finding a village […]
Ramzy Baroud, Al Jazeera: My Palestinian Right of Return is Sacred
This is the story of four Palestinian peasants who have been dead and buried for many years, but whose legacy continues to define the collective aspirations of a whole nation. It is also the story of a village that was erased from existence 70 years ago. The peasants are my grandparents, and the village of […]
