Al-Aqsa attack: Palestinians all but abandoned

First published by the Middle East Eye on 17/7/2017 With a weak response from Arab and Muslim countries to unprecedented restrictions at the Al-Aqsa mosque, Palestinians are left alone to defend the holy site from Israel's incursions The implications of the deadly incident last Friday at Al-Aqsa go way beyond the right to prayer. Five …

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Mahmoud Abbas has led the Palestinians to a dead end. He must go 

First published by the Middle East Eye on 29/6/2017 The president has hit a new low, cutting the salaries and electricity of Palestinians in Gaza. The next intifada will be against the Palestinian National Authority and this should worry Israel and Abbas Photo: A photo of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from 2016 (AFP) The embattled …

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Every picture tells a story; can the Palestinians expect any justice from this bunch?

First published by the Middle East Monitor on 23/6/2017 Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with Jared Kushner (3rd L) in Jerusalem on 21 June 2017 [Handout / Amos Ben Gershom / GPO] Throughout his first trip abroad as US president, during which he visited Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Donald Trump expressed …

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Trump should appoint pro-Palestinian advisers

First published by the Arab Weekly on 11/6/2017 Trump’s senior advisers and ambassadors hold pro-Israel views with no counter view seemingly present. Phot: Diversity needed. Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (R) and US President Donald Trump (L) chat as White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is seen in between them, during their meeting at the …

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Are potential successors to Mahmoud Abbas making their bid?

First published by the Arab Weekly on 28/5/2017 Who will replace Abbas? Protesters carry pictures of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on May 3. (AP) Mahmoud Abbas holds all four of the top political positions in the Palestinian leadership. He is the president of the state of Palestine, president …

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Abbas-Trump meeting brings little hope for Palestinians

First published in the Arab Weekly on Sunday 14/5/2017 London - Palestinian Authority Presi­dent Mahmoud Abbas fi­nally had his day at the Trump White House. The US president, stand­ing in front of the Palestinian flag at their news conference on May 3, lauded Abbas for his role as signa­tory to the 1993 Oslo peace accords …

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Palestinians do not mourn the passing of war criminal Peres, even if Mahmoud Abbas does

I write on the eve of the burial of a war criminal. Shimon Peres, former Israeli Prime Minister and President died on the 28th of September at the age of 93. I mourn the fact that he never faced justice to answer for his crimes against Palestinian and Lebanese innocent civilians. I also mourn the truly nauseating …

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While Netanyahu lectures, Abbas pleads – but who is listening?

First published by the Middle East Eye on 26/9/2016 The 2016 annual pilgrimage of world leaders to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York was dominated by the Syria crisis. While many speakers ramble on to a half empty hall, others try to get important messages across to the assembly of world nations. …

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