- November 24, 2024
Articles
Why True Palestinian Unity Rremains Elusive
By Ramzy Baroud Palestinians are yet to achieve national unity despite the elation over the ‘national unity government’ now in operation in Ramallah. One has to be clear in the distinction between a Hamas-Fatah political arrangement necessitated by regional and international circumstances, and Palestinian unity. What has been agreed upon in the Shati’ (Beach) refugee […]
The Lost Voices of the Arab Revolutions
By Ramzy Baroud The Arab uprisings were sparked and fuelled by the justified demands of impoverished, oppressed peoples. The world’s media almost entirely missed this narrative Irrespective of how one feels about the direction taken by various Arab revolutions in the last three years, a few facts remain incontestable. Arab revolts began in the streets […]
Haftar Leads A Coup: A General’s Odd War on the Muslim Brotherhood
By Ramzy Baroud On 16 May, Libya’s rogue general Khalifa Haftar staged several bloody attacks against other Libyan militias in the name of eradicating terrorism by leading a paramilitary force evasively named the Libyan National Army. His well-equipped brigades were rapidly joined by officers from national army bases in the eastern parts of the country. […]
66 Year Nakba: I Saw Yafa, Land of Oranges
By Ramzy Baroud In ‘Jaffa: Land of Oranges’, Ghassan Kanafani described his exile from the Palestinian coastal city of Yafa. As a 12-year-old boy, he struggled to understand, but “on that night, though, certain threads of that story became clearer .. a big truck was standing in front of our door. Light things, mainly sleeping […]
What the Media Not Telling Us about Yemen
By Ramzy Baroud “In Yemen today, the US embassy is closed to the public. Officials telling CNN there is credible information of a threat against Western interests there,” a CNN news anchor read the news bulletin on May 08. This is CNN’s Yemen. It is a Yemen that seems to exist for one single purpose, […]
Navigating Syria: The Impossible, Indispensable Mission
By Ramzy Baroud I unfriended another Facebook friend this week. It may seem to be a trivial matter, but for me, it is not. The reason behind my action was Syria. As in Egypt, Syria has instigated many social media breakups with people whom, until then, were regarded with a degree of respect and admiration. […]
Palestinian Unity: Hope and Gloom in the Beach Refugee Camp
By Ramzy Baroud For years, Palestinian factions have strived for unity, and for years unity has evaded them. But is it possible that following several failed attempts, Fatah and Hamas have finally found that elusive middle ground? And if they have done so, why, to what end, and at what cost? On April 23, top […]
US Pursues ‘Peace’ on Israel’s Terms
By Ramzy Baroud To understand how thoughtless the latest US "peace process" drive has become, one only needs to consider some of the characters involved in this political theatre. One in particular who stands out is Martin Indyk. Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, was last July selected by Secretary of State John Kerry […]
Why Israeli Officials are Chuckling: The ‘Stable’ West Bank Dilemma
By Ramzy Baroud Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Ze’ev Elkin, is a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his predominantly rightwing cabinet. In a recent interview with The Economist, Elkin used the familiar tone of being conceited and oblivious to such notions as international or human rights, and reaffirmed his rejection of a Palestinian state. […]
‘Reality Check’: US Empire beyond Salvation
By Ramzy Baroud U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry couldn’t hide his frustration anymore as the U.S.-sponsored peace process continued to falter. After eight months of wrangling to push talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority forward, he admitted while in a visit to Morocco on April 4 that the latest setback had served as […]
What Middle East Crisis? Peace Process as a Successful US Investment
By Ramzy Baroud Crisis seemed to loom large as Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed applications to join 15 international treaties on April 1. The decision prompted irate reactions from Israel, and sent US Secretary of State John Kerry into panic mode, unsuccessfully attempting to salvage the peace process. Yet something is strangely familiar […]
Kerry’s Looming Deadline and the Peace Process Industry
By Ramzy Baroud As the US-imposed April 29 deadline for a ‘framework’ agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority looms, time is also running out for the American administration itself. The Obama administration must now conjure up an escape route to avoid a political crisis if the talks are to fail, as they […]
Mahmoud Abbas vs Mohammed Dahlan: The Showdown Begins
By Ramzy Baroud When late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was confined by Israeli soldiers to his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Mohammed Dahlan reigned supreme. As perhaps the most powerful and effective member of the ‘Gang of Five’, he managed the affairs of the ruling Fatah movement, coordinated with Israel regarding matters […]
A Kuffiya for Tony Benn – The British Warrior Who ‘Matured with Age’
By Ramzy Baroud Long before the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment campaign inched slowly from the fringes of global solidarity with Palestinians to take center stage, Tony Benn had been advocating a boycott of Israel with unrestricted conviction, for years. “Britain should offer its support for this strategy by stopping all arms sales to Israel, introducing […]
Al-Aqsa vs. Israel: The Lurking Danger Beneath
By Ramzy Baroud Something sinister is brewing around and below al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, and it has the hallmark of a familiar Israeli campaign to strip the Mosque of its Muslim Arab identity. This time around, however, the stakes are much higher. The status of al-Aqsa mosque is unparalleled within the context of […]
Tears of Yarmouk – The Palestinian Lesson that Every Syrian Should Know
By Ramzy Baroud In the early days of the Syrian uprising-turned civil war three years ago, the writing on the wall of it becoming an intricate regional and international conflict was there for all to see. Palestinians in Syria were likely to find themselves a pawn in a dirty war, but few could have predicted […]
Omar and the Checkpoint: Everyday a Nightmare
By Ramzy Baroud Omar is a 7-year-old boy from Gaza. His family managed to obtain the necessary permits that allowed him to cross the Erez checkpoint to Jerusalem, through the West Bank, in order to undergo surgery. He was accompanied by his father. On the way back, the boy and his father were stopped at […]
The Libyan Bedlam: General Hifter, the CIA and the Unfinished Coup
By Ramzy Baroud On Friday, Feb 14, 92 prisoners escaped from their prison in the Libyan town of Zliten. 19 of them were eventually recaptured, two of whom were wounded in clashes with the guards. It was just another daily episode highlighting the utter chaos which has engulfed Libya since the overthrow of Muammar Ghaddafi […]
Preserving the Abu Ghraib Culture: The Harrowing Abuse of Iraqi Women
By Ramzy Baroud “When they first put the electricity on me, I gasped; my body went rigid and the bag came off my head,” Israa Salah, a detained Iraqi woman told Human Rights Watch (HRW) in her heartrending testimony. Israa (not her real name) was arrested by US and Iraqi forces in 2010. She was […]
Iraq near Implosion: The ‘Bad Years’ Are Back
By Ramzy Baroud As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hurried to his helicopter ready to take off at the end of a visit to Iraq last year, it was becoming clearer that the Americans have lost control of a country they wished to mold to their liking. His departure on March 24, 2013 was […]
Principles to Guide the Young Activist
By Ramzy Baroud In a recent radio interview with a National Public Radio affiliate in Juneau, Alaska, I was asked if I had advice for a 16-year-old Palestinian student, Haitham. He had just arrived in the US as part of a school exchange program, and, admirably began reaching out to his peers in his and […]
The Strange but ‘Stable’ Alliance: US Senate Await Israeli Instructions
By Ramzy Baroud Israel is often viewed by Washington politicians as the most ‘stable’ ally in the Middle East. But stability from the American perspective can mean many things. Lead amongst them is that the ‘ally’ must be unconditionally loyal to the diktats of the US administration. This rule has proven to be true since […]
The Whitewashing of Ariel Sharon
By Ramzy Baroud The death of former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon enlivened US media’s interest in the legacy of a man considered by many a war criminal, and by some a hero. In fact, the supposed heroism of Sharon was at the heart of CNN coverage of his death on January 11. Sharon spent his […]
Starving Refugees: How We Disowned Palestinians in Syria
By Ramzy Baroud A worst case scenario is unfolding in Syria, and Palestinian refugees, particularly in the Yarmouk refugee camp, are paying a heavy price for Syria’s cruelest war. They are starving, although there can be no justification, nor logistical explanation for why they are dying from hunger. Spokesman for the UN Relief and Works […]
2014: Failure of Palestinian Authority, BDS Success to Continue
By Ramzy Baroud 2013 was a year in which the so-called peace process charade was allowed to continue, leading Palestinians on yet another futile journey of broken promises. Meanwhile, the Israeli colonial project in the West Bank and East Jerusalem carried on unabated. But it was not entirely a year of doom and gloom either, […]
2013: Assessing the Conflict in Syria and Egypt – The War Continues
By Ramzy Baroud 2013 has expectedly been a terrible year for several Arab nations. It has been terrible because the promise of greater freedoms and political reforms has been reversed, most violently in some instances, by taking a few countries down the path of anarchy and complete chaos. Syria and Egypt are two cases in […]
BDS: Permanent Address for Palestinian Solidarity
By Ramzy Baroud The intellectual dishonesty of Israel’s supporters is appalling. But in some odd way, it is also understandable. How else could they respond to the massively growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign? When a non-violent campaign – empowered by thousands of committed civil society activists from South Africa to Sweden and most […]
Beit Sahour: Boycott is Historically Palestinian
By Ramzy Baroud As the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment (BDS) movement continues to grow, and thus Israel’s international isolation, one must remember that the boycott is an authentically collective Palestinian strategy that is rooted in history. The BDS debate is at such an advanced stage that it has indeed surpassed all expectations. A few years […]
From the Middle East to Lausanne: Arabic Thoughts amidst the Alps
By Ramzy Baroud Here in Switzerland, the train chugs along nicely between Geneva and Lausanne. The Alpine mountain range desperately fights to make its presence known despite the irritating persistence of low- hanging clouds. A friend had just introduced me to the music of J.J. Cale, but my thoughts were moving faster than the speed […]
Impossible Dialogue: The Choice in Yemen
By Ramzy Baroud Chances are dim that elections will be held in Yemen next February. Yet without elections, the push for reforms and change that were inspired by the Yemeni revolution would become devoid of any real value. Yemenis might find themselves back on the street, repeating the original demands that echoed in the country’s […]
