- May 10, 2025
Palestine/Israel
Punishing the Messenger: Israel’s War on NGOs Takes a Worrying Turn
By Ramzy Baroud “You deserve to see your loved ones suffer and die. But, maybe, you would be hurt before them,” was part of a threatening message received by a staff member at ‘Al-Mezan’, a Gaza-based human rights group. The photo attached to the email was of the exterior of the activist’s home. The gist […]
Libya’s ‘Operation Odyssey Lightning’ – The Obama Doctrine is Ravaging the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud Everyone seems to have a theory on how to obliterate ISIS, or ‘Daesh’. However, two points are rarely raised: one, concerning the origins of the group and the second, on whether there are genuine intentions to defeat it, in the first place. We must boldly address the first to unravel the enigma […]
Divide and Rule: How Factionalism in Palestine is Killing Prospects for Freedom
By Ramzy Baroud As Palestinians in the Occupied Territories begin preparations for local elections which are scheduled for October, division and factionalism are rearing their ugly head. Palestinian political platforms and social media are abuzz with self-defeating propaganda: Fatah supporters attacking Hamas’ alleged failures, and Hamas’ supporters doing the same. What is conveniently overlooked by […]
Of Hajah Zainab – Is Palestine still the central issue for Arabs?
By Ramzy Baroud Palestine is increasingly absent from Arab consciousness, at least at the official and media levels. For years, the discussion has veered elsewhere, to other regions and various other concerns, as Arab regional alliances are no longer driven by the ‘question of Palestine.’ Whether one blames that neglect on the so-called Arab Spring, […]
Farewell to Yarmouk: A Palestinian Refugee’s Journey from Izmir to Greece
By Ramzy Baroud (Based on interviews with Palestinian refugees from Syria.) The refugee camp of Yarmouk was ever present in his being, pulling him in and out of an abyss of persistent fears that urged him to never return. But what was this refugee without Yarmouk, his first haven, his last earth? How could any […]
People above Politics: Political Deal will not Hamper the Turkish-Palestinian Bond
By Ramzy Baroud Hyped emotions, and political opportunism aside, the Israel-Turkey normalization deal, signed on June 27 is unfavorable for Palestinians – and for Gazans, in particular. There is much that is being said to blame Turkey or placate the damage of seeing Turkey – which has for years been one of the most visible […]
Ramzy Baroud: Thanks, Turkey – but it’s freedom, not charity, that Gaza seeks (ALJAZEERA)
When Israeli commandos violently raided the Freedom Flotilla in May 2010, something extraordinary happened in Gaza: a deep sense of loss, but also pride. It was the first time that this generation experienced real solidarity emanating from a Muslim country, exhibited with such resolution and willingness to sacrifice. Many Palestinians had finally renewed their faith, […]
Will Brexit Help the Palestinian Cause in the EU?
By Ramzy Baroud After months of anticipation, the United Kingdom has decided to leave the European Union (EU). Although, the results were fairly close – 51.9% voted to ‘Leave’ vs. 48.1% elected to ‘Remain’ – the consequences of the decision will be far-reaching. Not only will the Brits negotiate their exit from the EU (thus, […]
Ramzy Baroudm TeleSUR TV: Israel castiga a palestinos con racionamiento de su propia agua
El gobierno de Israel les ha despojado a los palestinos de sus riquezas de agua potable y ahora los castiga provocando la escasez de la misma. Cuando sí les permiten tomar su propia agua, se la vende carísima. Israel le ha despojado a los palestinos de la Franja de Gaza de todos sus recursos acuíferos […]
Palestine’s ‘Prayer for Rain’: How Israel Uses Water as a Weapon of War
By Ramzy Baroud Entire communities in the West Bank either have no access to water or have had their water supply reduced almost by half. This alarming development has been taking place for weeks, since Israel’s national water company, “Mekorot”, decided to cut off – or significantly reduce – its water supply to Jenin, Salfit […]
Ramzy Baroud to RT: ‘Israel’s water war against Palestinians form of collective punishment’
Israel has done so much to ensure that Palestinians don’t have access to water – not only as a form of collective punishment, but to also to ensure Palestinians do not develop their economy, says Ramzy Baroud, editor of The Palestine Chronicle. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have reportedly been left without access to safe […]
Gaza: resistencia a través de la poesía
Por Ramzy Baroud “(Al amanecer)… Resistiré… (Porque) sobre la pared hay aún una sábana blanca… Y mis dedos no se han disuelto (completamente) aún”. Éste es un verso traducido de “Tres paredes de la cámara de tortura”, de Mu’in Bseiso. Fue y sigue siendo uno de los intelectuales más influyentes de Gaza, y uno de […]
Gaza: Resistance Through Poetry
By Ramzy Baroud “(At dawn) … I will resist … (Since) upon the wall there is still a white sheet … And my fingers are yet to (completely) dissolve.” This is a translated verse from Mu’in Bseiso’ “Three Walls of the Torture Chamber”. He was -and remains – one of Gaza’s most influential intellectual and […]
Paris Conference a Tired and Cliched Failure
By Ramzy Baroud Matthew Duss is right. The Paris Peace Conference is different, and the fact that the United States’ stronghold of supposedly trying to resolve conflicts in the Middle East is being challenged, is a point worth noting. Yet, this is hardly important. “The multilateral nature of the conference is a Palestinian strategic victory, […]
The Paris Peace Gambit: Everyone Gains except the Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud In their defense, the Israelis seem to have figured out the whole thing and opted out. But the hapless Palestinian leadership, along with their Arab League partners, joined by the French, EU and UN representatives, and even US Secretary of State, John Kerry, decided to play along. However, the French peace initiative-turned-conference […]
Israel’s Future is Terrifying: Moshe Ya’alon and Israel’s Disconcerting ‘Morality’
By Ramzy Baroud Israeli society is constantly swerving to the Right and, by doing so, the country’s entire political paradigm is redefined regularly. Israel is now ‘ruled by the most extreme rightwing government in its history’ has grown from being an informed assessment to a dull cliché over the course of only a few years. […]
The Reductionist View of an Intifada
By Ramzy Baroud Associating the ongoing Palestinian intifada (uprising) with the number of stabbings or alleged stabbings carried out by Palestinian youths was a mistake from the start. An intifada is a collective movement, not individual acts of violence, no matter how frequent. The current intifada dates back to last October, when a large number […]
Time to End the ‘Hasbara’: Palestinian Media and the Search for a Common Story
By Ramzy Baroud Merely being in the company of hundreds of Palestinian journalists and other media professionals from all over the world has been an uplifting experience. For many years, Palestinian media has been on the defensive, unable to articulate a coherent message, torn between factions and desperately trying to fend off the Israeli media […]
Roots of the Conflict: Palestine’s Nakba in the Larger Arab ‘Catastrophe
By Ramzy Baroud On May 15th of every year, over the past 68 years, Palestinians have commemorated their collective exile from Palestine. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine to make room for a ‘Jewish homeland’ came at a price of unrelenting violence and perpetual suffering. Palestinians refer to that enduring experience as ‘Nakba’, or ‘Catastrophe’. However, […]
A Palestinian Perspective on Britain’s ‘Anti-Semitic’ Controversy
By Ramzy Baroud There is a witch-hunt in the British Labour Party. Britain’s Opposition party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is being hounded for not rooting out alleged anti-Semitism in his party. Those leading the charge are pro-Israel Zionists and their supporters within the party, members who are mostly allied with the former Prime Minister, the largely […]
The Spirit of Nelson Mandela in Palestine: Is His Real Legacy Being Upheld?
By Ramzy Baroud I had mixed feelings when I learned that Palestine has erected a statue of Nelson Mandela, the iconic South African anti-Apartheid leader. On the one hand, I was quite pleased that the unmistakable connection between the struggles of Palestinians and South Africans is cemented more than ever before. On the other hand, […]
By Sparing Israel, Abbas Deepens Palestinian Split
By Ramzy Baroud Palestinian National Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, is playing a very dangerous political game. At the same time as he is placing less pressure on the belligerent Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, he is keeping Palestinians further apart. Even when the 81-year-old leader no longer maintains his position, the legacy he has stubbornly […]
Did the Arabs Betray Palestine?
By Ramzy Baroud At the age of 21, I crossed Gaza into Egypt to pursue a degree in political science. The timing could have not been worse. The Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990 had resulted in a US-led international coalition and a major war, which eventually paved the road for the US invasion of […]
At 80, Failed Abbas is Probed, Derided and Scapegoated
By Ramzy Baroud “We won’t act like them, we will not use violence or force, we are peaceful, we believe in peace, in peaceful popular resistance.” This was part of a message issued by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in October, only days after a few incidents took place in which Palestinian youth were […]
The Logic of Murder in Israel: A Culture of Impunity in Full View of the Entire World
By Ramzy Baroud “Whether he made a mistake or not, is a trivial question,” said an Israeli Jewish man who joined large protests throughout Israel in support of a soldier who calmly, and with precision, killed a wounded Palestinian man in al-Khalil (Hebron). The protesting Jewish man described Palestinians as ‘barbaric’, ‘bestial’, who should not be […]
Non-violent BDS Should Be Welcomed, Not Condemned
By Ramzy Baroud A thousand Israelis and their supporters gathered in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center on March 28 at a conference aimed at combating the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). The conference was a display of “fear, paranoia, anger and determination,” as described by Antony Loewenstein, and featured top government officials, members of the […]
Israel Cannot Win the Fight with BDS
By Ramzy Baroud Serious efforts are being galvanized in Israel and outside to slow down the fast-moving momentum of the Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS). The latest of these efforts was a large, angry conference in occupied Jerusalem, which followed a series of conferences in the US. And more are being planned. This […]
Intifada for Dummies: Why a Popular Uprising is Yet to Take off?
By Ramzy Baroud The nature of the current uprising in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is a testament to that claim. Previous uprisings were massive in their mobilization, clear in their message and decisive in their delivery. Their success or failure is not the point of this discussion, but the fact is that they […]
How Impunity Defines Israel and Victimizes Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif was killed. In the style typical of Israeli aggression against unarmed Palestinians, he was first wounded after allegedly attempting to stab an Israel occupation soldier in the occupied city of Hebron. He lies on his back, his arms stretched across the road, and his head moving about. A […]
Why BDS Cannot Lose: A Moral Threshold to Combat Racism in Israel
By Ramzy Baroud A foray of condemnations of the boycott of Israel seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Calls from Western governments, originating from the UK, the US, Canada and others, to criminalize the boycott of Israel have hardly slowed down the momentum of the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). On the […]
