- June 11, 2025
Articles
Hamas at 24: Politics of Resistance in Changing Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud Ever since Hamas emerged victorious in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, myriad public opinion polls revealed that its popularity in the Occupied Territories was on a steady decline. However, there are actually few indications that Hamas as a popular movement will be departing the Palestinian political landscape anytime soon. Ongoing talks in […]
Masked in Gaza: The Untold History of Palestinian ‘Militancy’
By Ramzy Baroud Essam Al-Batsh and his nephew, Sobhi Al-Batsh, are the latest in a long line of reported Palestinian ‘militants’ killed by Israel. The civilians were both targeted while driving in a car in downtown Gaza on December 8. According to an Israeli army statement, “(They) were affiliated with a terrorist squad that intended […]
Towards a True Paradigm Shift in Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud The Palestinian Uprising or Intifada of 1987 remains the single most significant triumph of popular mobilization in Palestinian history. The First Intifada, as it is commonly known, had, once and for all, placed the Palestinian people as a collective on the political map of a region that previously had room only for […]
League Action Reflects Regional Rivalry
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News According to various media commentators, the rapid Arab League mobilisation against Syria is proof of the organisation rising to an urgent collective responsibility against impending dangers. However, such an assumption is either misguided or misconstrued. The so-called Arab Spring has largely been credited for the League’s actions. While […]
On Freedom and Imperialism: Arab Spring and the Intellectual Divide
By Ramzy Baroud The so-called ‘Arab Spring’ is creating an intellectual divide that threatens any sensible understanding of the turmoil engulfing several Arab countries. While it is widely understood that revolutions endeavor to overthrow political structures and aim to change the social order and power paradigm within any given society, there is still no single, […]
Turkey and the Syrian ‘Abyss’
By Ramzy Baroud When Recep Tayyip Erdogan became Turkey’s prime minister in 2003, he seemed to be certain of the new direction his country would take. It would maintain cordial ties with Turkey’s old friends, Israel included, but also reach out to its Arab and Muslim neighbors, Syria in particular. The friendly relations between Ankara […]
Syria’s Fate in Its Citizens’ Hands
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News The popular uprising in Syria is hovering over a fine line that separates it from full-blown civil war. If the latter were to happen, it could open the door to other frightening developments, including foreign military intervention. Protests in Syria began on January 26, and a more inclusive […]
Syria Uprising Falls Victim to Power Plays
By Ramzy Baroud Syrians continue to be victimized, not only in violent clashes with the Syrian military, but also by regional and international players with various agendas. Protests in Syria began on January 26, and a more inclusive uprising was set in motion on March 15. The initial demand was for serious political reforms, but […]
Freedom Waves will Reach Gaza
By Ramzy Baroud Another mission accomplished, or so it seems. Israeli navy has managed to thwart yet another civil society ‘provocation’ (as described by the Israeli Embassy in Dublin, Irish Times, November 4). Thus the 27 activists from nine countries aboard two boats were rounded up and hauled, along with their ‘provocative’ medical supplies, to […]
Israel in a State of Denial
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News In his October 10 column for Israel’s Ynetnews, Guy Bechor reached a bewildering conclusion. “Israelis were the first ones of all people to raise the delegitimisation argument: Israel would turn into the new South Africa as result of its isolation in the western world, they said … However, […]
‘Islamists’ on Probation: Western Reaction to Tunisian Elections
By Ramzy Baroud Following Tunisia’s first fair and free elections on October 27, the Western media responded with a characteristic sense of fear and alarm. For many, it seemed that the ghost of the Islamic menace was back to haunt ‘Western values’ throughout the Arab world. The narrative employed by media outlets was no more […]
The Shock Doctrine: The Unwritten Libya Chapter
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News Shortly before committing suicide in 1961, the American author Ernest Hemingway wrote about his electroshock therapy. “Well, what is the sense of ruining my head and erasing my memory, which is my capital, and putting me out of business? It was a brilliant cure but we lost the […]
Iraq War Declared Over, but War Party Persists
By Ramzy Baroud In a White House Statement on October 21, US President Barack Obama pledged that his country would finally withdraw forces from Iraq. “After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over,” he said. Providing some context to Obama’s announcement, a CBSNews.com report published on the same day stated, “The war […]
Real ‘Theater of the Absurd’: Netanyahu and His Endgame in Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud During his deliberately offensive speech on September 23, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the General Assembly as ‘the theater of the absurd.’ Israel’s few friends at the United Nations – led by the US delegation – listened gleefully and applauded as Netanyahu heralded a steady stream of insults. Netanyahu then returned […]
Afghanistan: Ten Years of Tragedy and Misguided Policy
By Ramzy Baroud On July 1 2002, US planes bombed an Afghan wedding in the small village of Deh Rawud. Located to the north of Kandahar, the village seemed fortified by the region’s many mountains. For a few hours its people thought they were safe from a war they had never invited. They celebrated and, […]
People’s Conspiracy: Writing off the Arabs
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News Professor Robert B. was my first Middle East politics lecturer at the University of Washington. Only minutes into his opening lecture, he made a comment that had me sink into my seat with embarrassment: “The Arab world is made of strong leaders and weak people.” While I didn’t feel […]
The Syrian Uprising: US Follows a Failed Path
By Ramzy Baroud United States ambassador to Syria Robert Ford is quite a feisty diplomat. He shows up unannounced and uninvited at various hot spots in the country, greeted with varying degrees of enthusiasm and, oftentimes, anger. When he made a highly touted appearance in the city of Hama in July, residents reportedly greeted him […]
Abbas’ Speech Seems to Appreciate Changing Reality
By Ramzy Baroud – Special to Gulf News Mamhoud Abbass’ UN General Assembly speech on September 23 is likely to go down in history. This is not owing to the intellectual enormity of Abbas himself, nor of his politically-subservient Palestinian National Authority (PNA), but rather because it reflects the triumph of the Palestinian will after […]
Ibrahim Zaza: The Gaza Boy Newspapers Omitted
By Ramzy Baroud ‘Both of Ibrahim’s arms were cut off. He had a hole in his lung. Parts of his legs were missing. His kidney was in a bad condition…we need people to stand with us.’ These were the words of an exhausted man as he described the condition of his dying son in an […]
Another ‘Symbolic Victory’: Abbas’ New Political Gambit
By Ramzy Baroud – Arab News When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas decided to go to the United Nations to request the admission of Palestine as a full member, he appeared to have had an epiphany. Had he finally realized that for the past two decades he and his party, Fatah, have gone down a […]
Taking on Turkey: Israel’s ‘Dangerous’ Game
By Ramzy Baroud The UN Palmer Report, which largely exonerated Israel for murdering nine unarmed Turkish civilians in international waters on May 31, 2010, seemed in some ways like the last straw. Prior to its publication, the camel’s back had already mostly broken, and a collapse in Turkish-Israeli ties was looming. Turkey’s sin was seeking […]
Arab Spring Exposes Duplicity of Conventional Western Policy
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News For many Arabs, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg is just another politician committed to preserving his interests and those of the ruling class in his country. Despite his attempts at appearing kinder than other mainstream British leaders, it isn’t hard to see through Clegg’s repeated enthusiastic references […]
For the Love of Israel: Congresswoman’s Misguided War on the UN
By Ramzy Baroud From an Israeli point of view, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is the ideal American politician. Although many in the US government aspire to her level of commitment to Israel, few can measure up to a dedication that extends beyond the very interests of her own country. “Lawless extremists infest Congress like crabgrass besets […]
Libyans Must Fully Liberate Themselves
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News Now that Gaddafi and his sons are on the run, western allies are speaking of an orderly transition, nation-building, and direct intervention in managing post-Gaddafi Libyan affairs. It is understood that the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi and his contemptible regime was a ‘regime change from the air’, orchestrated […]
Libya’s Next Fight: The West
By Ramzy Baroud At a press conference in Tripoli on Aug. 26, a statement read aloud by top Libyan rebel commander Abdel Hakim Belhadj was reassuring. Just a few months ago, disorganized and leaderless rebel fighters seemed to have little chance at ousting Libyan dictator Moammar Ghaddafi and his unruly sons. But despite vague references […]
Israel’s ‘Nice Little War’: Gaza, Egypt in the Range of Fire
By Ramzy Baroud Israeli writer Uri Avnery recently wrote an article entitled ‘How Godly Are Thy Tents?’, which began with the words, “First of all, a warning.” The reference was made to the tent cities that have sprung up across the country by middle class Israelis demanding change and reforms. The organizational style of these […]
Lurking Dangers to the Arab Quest for Freedom and Reform
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News Arab revolutions are currently facing real dangers, which vacillate between lack of prioritisation, stagnation and foreign intervention. In Egypt, there have been deliberate attempts to divide the objectives of the revolution into blurred ideological classifications. A chasm is already growing between ‘liberal’ and Islamic forces regarding the identity […]
The US-Arab Disconnect
By Ramzy Baroud As the Arab Spring continues to challenge dictators, demolish old structures and ponder roadmaps for a better future, the US remains committed to its failed policies, misconceptions and selfish interests. Arabs may disagree on many things, but few disagree on the fact that there is now no turning back. The age of […]
Gaza. Somalia. Humanity Lives on
By Ramzy Baroud I remember how exhilarated I felt when I was told I was old enough to fast for the month of Ramadan. My feelings had little to do with abstention from food and drink between dawn and sunset each day. For a child, there is little joy in that. The meaning and implications […]
Syria: Tired Slogans and a Looming Dawn
By Ramzy Baroud There is no linear narrative capable of explaining the multifarious happenings that have gripped Syrian society in recent months. On March 23, as many as 20 peaceful protesters were killed at the hands of Syrian security forces, and many more were wounded. Since then, the violence has escalated to such a level […]
