- February 24, 2025
Palestine/Israel
Palestine: It Is Time for a New Beginning
By Ramzy Baroud Now that the American mask has completely fallen, Palestinians require an urgent rethink in their own political priorities, alliances and national liberation strategy. Business should not go on as usual after US President Donald Trump accepted Israel’s definition of Jerusalem as its capital, thus violating the overwhelming international consensus on the matter. […]
The ‘Last Martyr’: Who Killed My Neighbor, Kamal Al-Assar?
By Ramzy Baroud When I learned of the death of Kamal Al-Assar a few years ago, I was baffled. He was only in his 40s. I remember him in his prime, a young rebel, leading the neighborhood youth, armed with rocks and slingshots, in a hopeless battle against the Israeli army. Understandably, we lost, but […]
Trump’s Move on Jerusalem: Is this the End of US Diplomacy in the Middle East?
By Ramzy Baroud Finally, US President Donald Trump pulled the plug. The so-called peace process, two-state solution, ‘land-for-peace formula’ and all the other tired clichés have been long dead and decomposing. But Trump’s announcement on Wednesday to officially recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel has also laid to rest the illusion that the US was […]
Decades of US Diplomacy Has Failed: Why the US Wants to Shut the PLO Office
By Ramzy Baroud On November 18, just days before the 50th anniversary of United Nations Resolution 242, the US State Department took its first step towards severing its ties with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The timing of this decision could not be any more profound. The first formal contact between the US and the […]
70 Years of Broken Promises: The Untold Story of the Partition Plan
By Ramzy Baroud In a recent talk before Chatham House think-tank in London, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, approached the issue of a Palestinian state from an intellectual perspective. Before we think of establishing a Palestinian state, he mused, “it is time we reassessed whether the modern model we have of sovereignty, and unfettered sovereignty, […]
The Trials of Benjamin Netanyahu: Corruption in Israel is Not Just an Israeli Issue
By Ramzy Baroud Whether the string of scandals, now hounding Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lead to his sacking or not, it matters little. Though nearly half of Israelis polled last July – well before the scandals took a much dirtier turn – believe that Netanyahu is corrupt, a majority of Israelis said that they […]
‘Creeping Annexation’: Why Israel Shelved the ‘Greater Jerusalem Law’
By Ramzy Baroud The postponing of an Israeli Knesset bill that would have annexed major illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank to the Jerusalem municipality is the result of behind-the-scenes US and, possibly, European pressure. But the story of the so-called “Greater Jerusalem law” does not end there. Israel wants to maintain an absolute demographic […]
How Britain Became an Obstacle to Peace
By Ramzy Baroud Arthur James Balfour’s wrote 84 words that sealed the fate of the Palestinian people by ultimately displacing most of them from their historical homeland to live in permanent exile. “His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best […]
Walls and Militarized Police: How Israel Is Exporting Its Occupation to the United States
By Ramzy Baroud Israeli footprints are becoming more apparent in the US security apparatus. Such a fact does not bode well for ordinary Americans. US Senate Bill S.720 should have been a wake-up call. The Bill, drafted by the Israel lobby group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), as part of its “2017 Lobbying Agenda” is […]
Hamas and Fatah Must Transform to Speak on behalf of Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud The reconciliation agreement signed between rival Palestinian parties, Hamas and Fatah, in Cairo on October 12 was not a national unity accord – at least, not yet. For the latter to be achieved, the agreement would have to make the interests of the Palestinian people a priority, above factional agendas. The leadership […]
What Is Behind the Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation?
By Ramzy Baroud Egypt’s enthusiasm to arbitrate between feuding Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, is not the outcome of a sudden awakening of conscience. Cairo has, in fact, played a destructive role in manipulating Palestinian division to its favor, while keeping the Rafah border crossing under lock and key. However, the Egyptian leadership is clearly […]
The Balfour Declaration Destroyed Palestine, Not the Palestinian People
By Ramzy Baroud Some promises are made and kept; others disavowed. But the ‘promise’ made by Arthur James Balfour in what became known as the ‘Balfour Declaration’ to the leaders of the Zionist Jewish community in Britain one hundred years ago, was only honored in part: it established a state for the Jews and attempted […]
Endorsements and How to Pre-Order: The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story
This is a history of modern Palestine like no other: built from the testimony of people who have lived through it. Ramzy Baroud here gathers accounts from countless Palestinians from all walks of life, and from throughout the decades, to tell the story of the nation and its struggle for independence and security. Challenging both […]
The Fight Ahead: 13 Questions about the Origins, Objectives and War on BDS
By Ramzy Baroud BDS stands for ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’. The BDS Movement was the outcome of several events that shaped the Palestinian national struggle and international solidarity with the Palestinian people following the Second Uprising (Intifada) in 2000. Building on a decades-long tradition of civil disobedience and popular resistance, and invigorated by growing international […]
Courting the Global South: Will Israel Become a UN Security Council Member?
By Ramzy Baroud There is a great irony in the fact that Israel is seeking a seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Since its establishment atop the ruins of Palestinian cities and villages in 1948, Israel has had the most precarious relationship with the world’s largest international body. It has desperately sought to […]
Three Years after the War: Gaza Youth Speak Out
By Ramzy Baroud “At bedtime, I am afraid to turn the lights off. I am not a coward, it is just that I worry that this bulb hanging from the ceiling is the last light that remains (shining) in my life.” Soon after he penned these words, Moath Alhaj, a young artist from a Gaza refugee […]
Al-Araqeeb Village: Palestinian Bedouins Refuse to Surrender 116 Times
By Ramzy Baroud On August 1, the Palestinian Bedouin village of Al-Araqeeb was destroyed for the 116th time. As soon as Israeli bulldozers finished their ugly deed and soldiers began evacuating the premises, the village resident immediately began rebuilding their homes. 22 families, or about 101 residents, are estimated to live here. By now, they are […]
‘The Palestine Exception’: War on BDS is Now a War on American Democracy
By Ramzy Baroud There is something immoral in Washington D.C., and its consequences can be dire for many people, particularly for the health of US democracy. The US government is declaring war on the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The fight to defeat BDS has been ongoing for several years, but most notably […]
Power to the People: Why Palestinian Victory in Jerusalem is a Pivotal Moment
By Ramzy Baroud Neither Fatah nor Hamas have been of much relevance to the mass protests staged around Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. Neither have American pressure, half-hearted European ‘concern about the situation’ or cliché Arab declarations made one iota of difference. United Nations officials warned of the grim scenarios of escalation, but their statements were mere […]
The Curse of Mohammed Dahlan: Hamas Should Not Trade Resistance for Its Own Survival
By Ramzy Baroud “We have made mutual efforts with our brothers in Hamas to restore hope for Gaza’s heroic people,” Mohammed Dahlan told Palestinian lawmakers gathering in Gaza on Thursday, July 27. He spoke via satellite from his current exile in the United Arab Emirates. The audience clapped. True, Gaza has been pushed to the brink of […]
The Story behind the Jerusalem Attack: How Trump and Netanyahu Pushed the Palestinians into a Corner
By Ramzy Baroud Early October 2016, Misbah Abu Sbeih left his wife and five children at home and then drove to an Israeli police station in Occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem. The 39-year-old Jerusalemite was scheduled to hand himself over to serve a term of 4 months in jail for, allegedly, trumped up charges of ‘trying […]
Fighting the Wrong Enemy: Why Americans Hate Muslims
By Ramzy Baroud Two officers sought me from within a crowd at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. They seemed to know who I was. They asked me to follow them, and I obliged. Being of Arab background, often renders one’s citizenship almost irrelevant. In a back room, where other foreigners, mainly Muslims, were holed for ‘added […]
Pushing Gaza to Suicide: The Politics of Humiliation
By Ramzy Baroud Mohammed Abed is a 28-year-old taxi driver from the village of Qarara, near the town of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. He has no teeth. Lack of medical care and proper dentistry work cost him all of his teeth, which rotted and decayed at a very young age. Yet, his dire […]
Israel vs. the United Nations: The Nikki Haley Doctrine
By Ramzy Baroud The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, seems to be championing a single cause: Israel. When Haley speaks about Israel, her language is not merely emotive nor tailored to fit the need of a specific occasion. Rather, her words are resolute, consistent and are matched by a clear plan […]
The Unwanted ‘Bride’: Can the 1967 War Offer Opportunity for Peace?
By Ramzy Baroud There is a saying that goes: “Be careful what you wish for, for you may get it.” This has been Israel’s dilemma from the very beginning. The Zionist movement, which held its first conference in Basel, Switzerland 120 years ago, wanted Palestine but not the Palestinians. They achieved this objective 50 years […]
Trump’s Visit to Israel: How Palestine Disappeared from US Media Coverage
By Ramzy Baroud As if he has, overnight, been transformed into a master politician, Donald Trump’s 27-hour trip to Israel has left many analysts mystified. Quoting former Israeli political adviser, Mitchell Barack, the New York Times referred to Trump as the “Liberace of world leaders”, in reference to flamboyant, piano player, Wladziu Valantino Liberace. The latter, known […]
Fear as an Obstacle to Peace: Why Are Israelis Afraid?
By Ramzy Baroud Bat-Hen Epstein Elias’s long article on Iranian Jews is interesting. Parts of it, in fact, are heartwarming. Yet, despite the lack of any serious evidence, the story is entirely framed in the language of fear. Entitled, “All the Jews there live in fear that their telephones are tapped,” the story in ‘Israel […]
Ramzy Baroud: Nakba Forever Internalized among Exiled Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud – Al Jazeera At 76, Tamam lives in the same refugee camp to which her family fled after their exile from Palestine during the Nakba in 1948. At least 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed between 1947 and 1948, as more than 500 Palestinian villages and towns were demolished to make room for Jewish […]
Árabes y judíos deben desafiar juntos al pasado oficial de Israel
Ramzy Baroud Israel ha recurrido principalmente a tres estrategias para reprimir las demandas de Palestina de justicia y derechos humanos, incluido el derecho al retorno de los refugiados. Una de ellas es reescribir la historia; otra intentar distraer la atención de las realidades presentes; y la tercera intenta reclamar la historia palestina como una versión […]
Jewish Nation-State Bill: Israel’s Precarious Identity is Palestine’s Nightmare
By Ramzy Baroud The Israeli Knesset (parliament) has hurriedly passed a new bill that defines Israel as the “national home of the Jewish people.” Although the association between Jewishness and Israel goes back to the foundation of the state, the new law also carries clear discriminatory elements that target the country’s Arab communities, numbering nearly […]
