- May 14, 2025
Palestine/Israel
Beyond Israeli Elections: Israel at the Cusp of a Bleak Era
Israelis now find themselves at the cusp of a new era, one that is defined by the breakdown of the country’s legal system, prolonged political crisis and never-ending social instability.
‘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 […]
Palestinian Prisoner Khalida Jarrar in her own Words: The Age of Freedom Will Come
By Ramzy Baroud Khalida Jarrar is a Palestinian feminist, a lawyer, educator and an elected parliamentarian. Over the years, she came to symbolize Palestinian popular resistance in the occupied West Bank, enraging the Israeli occupation authorities that arrested her repeatedly. Despite her failing health, as she is suffering from multiple ischemic infarctions and hypercholesterolemia, the […]
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, […]
‘These Chains Will Be Broken’: Ramzy Baroud’s Book on Palestinian Prisoners – Book Review
By Michael Lescher (These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons, by Ramzy Baroud, Clarity Press, Inc., 2020) Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote that “the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons” — an observation nowhere more grimly true than in a society whose very […]
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 […]
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 […]
These Chains Will Be Broken: New Book Delivers Resistance Message from Palestinian Prisoners to the World
On Monday, January 20, Clarity Press, Inc. of Atlanta announced the launch of These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons, by Palestinian author and journalist, Ramzy Baroud, and The Palestine Chronicle Editorial Team. Bookended by a Foreword by Khalida Jarrar Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and an Afterword by […]
Sealed Off and Forgotten: What You Should Know about Israel’s ‘Firing Zones’ in the West Bank
By Ramzy Baroud A seemingly ordinary news story, published in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, on January 7, shed light on a long-forgotten, yet crucial, subject: Israel’s so-called “firing zones” in the West Bank. “Israel has impounded the only vehicle available to a medical team that provides assistance to 1,500 Palestinians living inside an Israeli military firing zone in […]
Justice at Last? ‘Panic’ in Israel as the ICC Takes ‘Momentous Step’ in the Right Direction
By Ramzy Baroud At long last, Fatou Bensouda, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has uttered the long-anticipated conclusion that “all the statutory criteria under the Rome statute for the opening of an investigation (into alleged war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories) have been met”. Bensouda’s verdict has been in the […]
Embracing Palestine: How to Combat Israel’s Misuse of ‘Anti-Semitism’
By Ramzy Baroud At a talk I delivered in Northern England in March 2018, I proposed that the best response to falsified accusations of anti-Semitism, which are often lobbed against pro-Palestinian communities and intellectuals everywhere, is to draw even closer to the Palestinian narrative. In fact, my proposal was not meant to be a sentimental […]
Who is Archbishop Atallah Hanna, and Why does Israel Hate Him?
By Ramzy Baroud “They will run and not grow weary,” is a quote from the Bible (Isaiah, 40:41) that adorns the homepage of Kairos Palestine. This important document, which parallels a similar initiative emanating from South Africa during the anti-apartheid struggle years, has come to represent the unified voice of the Palestinian Christian community everywhere. One […]
A Year in Review: Will 2020 Be a Game Changer in Palestine?
By Ramzy Baroud This has been a defining year for Palestine and Israel. Despite the usual political stagnation of the Palestinian leadership, two factors contributed to making 2019 particularly eventful and, looking ahead, consequential as well: The unprecedented political power struggle in Israel, and the total US retreat from its own self-proclaimed role as an […]
Palestine and the Stifling Status Quo: Extending UNRWA’s Mission is a Pyrrhic Victory
By Ramzy Baroud “All attempts at trying to limit UNRWA’s mandate or defund it or attack it have failed, and we hope that the international community will continue to come to the rescue.” These were the words of senior Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, in response to the news that the United […]
On the Road to Gaza: The Freedom Flotilla Will Sail Again
By Ramzy Baroud What is Gaza to us but an Israeli missile, a rudimentary rocket, a demolished home, an injured child being whisked away by his peers under a hail of bullets? On a daily basis, Gaza is conveyed to us as a bloody image or a dramatic video, none of which can truly capture […]
From a Blessing to a Curse: How UN Resolution 2334 Accelerated Israel’s Colonization in the West Bank
By Ramzy Baroud Three years ago, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2334. With fourteen members voting in favor and one abstention, the Resolution was the equivalent of a political earthquake. Indeed, it was the first time in many years that the international body roundly condemned Israel for its illegal settlement policies in the Occupied Palestinian […]
‘Elected by Donors’: The University of Cape Town Fails Palestine, Embraces Israel
By Ramzy Baroud It was a scandal of the highest caliber. On November 23, the senate of the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa was practically bullied into reversing an earlier decision calling for the academic boycott of Israel. While the story may seem relevant in South Africa’s political and academic contexts, in […]
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 […]
The Unfinished ‘Coup’: The End of the Netanyahu Era and the Political Earthquake ahead
By Ramzy Baroud Nothing seems to be working for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has tried every trick in the book to save his political career and avoid a possible prison sentence. Nevertheless, for Israel’s longest-serving leader, the end is almost certainly nigh. Netanyahu described his indictment on charges of fraud, bribery, and breach of […]
Israel’s Next Move: The Real Danger in the US Decision to Normalize Illegal Jewish Settlements
The US decision to defy international law on settlements is not dangerous because it violates international law, for the latter has hardly ever been a concern for Washington.
O próximo passo de Israel é o verdadeiro perigo contido na decisão dos EUA de normalizar assentamentos ilegais
Não é de surpreender que o governo dos EUA finalmente tenha decretado que os assentamentos judaicos ilegais construídos em desafio ao direito internacional são de alguma forma “consistentes” com a lei. A política externa dos EUA está se aproximando dessa conclusão há algum tempo. Desde que se mudou para a Casa Branca em janeiro de 2017, o presidente Donald Trump desencadeou uma reversão total e completa da política externa de seu país em relação à Palestina e Israel.
The Infallible Warrior: Honest Reflections on the Legacy of Yasser Arafat 15 Years after his Death
By Ramzy Baroud 15 years after the passing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian people continue to reflect on his legacy. Thousands of images of “Abu Ammar” have been shared across numerous social media platforms remembering a man whose nom de guerre has been affiliated with the Palestinian struggle for decades. Arafat’s legacy, however, […]
How Western Media Bias Allows Israel to Getaway with Murder in Gaza
By Ramzy Baroud An Israeli attack on Gaza was imminent, and not because of any provocations by Palestinian groups in the besieged, impoverished Gaza Strip. The Israeli military escalation was foreseeable because it factors neatly in Israel’s contentious political scene. The war was not a question of “if”, but “when”. The answer came on November 12, when […]
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 […]
Microsoft Should not Fund Israeli Spying on Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud The act of Palestinian activists covering their faces during anti-Israeli occupation rallies is an old practice that spans decades. The masking of the face, often by Kufyias – traditional Palestinian scarves that grew to symbolize Palestinian resistance – is far from being a fashion statement. Instead, it is a survival technique, without […]
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinian Christians that Nobody is Talking about
By Ramzy Baroud Palestine’s Christian population is dwindling at an alarming rate. The world’s most ancient Christian community is moving elsewhere. And the reason for this is Israel. Christian leaders from Palestine and South Africa sounded the alarm at a conference in Johannesburg on October 15. Their gathering was titled: “The Holy Land: A Palestinian Christian Perspective”. […]
She Deserves our Support: Betty McCollum Wants US to Stop Subsidizing Torture of Palestinian Children
By Ramzy Baroud n December 2018, 17-year-old Palestinian teen, Ayham Sabah, was sentenced by an Israeli military court to 35 years in prison for his alleged role in a stabbing attack targeting an Israeli soldier in an illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Sabah was only 14 years old when the alleged attack took place. Another […]
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 […]
