First published by the Middle East Monitor on 4/8/2017Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 29th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 3 July, 2017 [Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency] When the PLO asked the United Nations General Assembly for an upgrade in Palestine’s status to “non-member observer state” on …
Continue reading Palestine must push back against loss of traditional allies
First published by the Arab Weekly on 16/7/2017 It is quite hypocritical for Israel to reject BDS while boycotting others for taking legal and moral positions in support of the Palestinians. Peaceful expression. An Egyptian man shouts anti-Israeli slogans in front of banners with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) logo at the Journalists’ Syndicate …
Continue reading Israel’s double standards about boycotts do not advance peace
First published by the Middle East Eye on 13/4/2017 On 7 April, I travelled with my wife, Lina, and my five-year-old son, Adam, to Palestine to spend Easter with family and friends, mainly in Attur, East Jerusalem. In the late afternoon, we arrived at Tel Aviv airport and made our way to passport control. I …
First published by the Middle East Monitor on 9/7/2017 Image of the UN Security Council resolution that called Israel to stop settlement activities on Palestinian territories on December 23 2016 [Volkan Furuncu / Anadolu Agency] The Palestinians were set to conclude that their cause had been severely damaged in 2016 when the UN Security Council …
Continue reading UN resolution 2334 must be seen as a tool, not just a victory
First published in the Middle East Eye on 19/10/2016 The UK home affairs select committee has fallen for the Israeli lobby's attempt to conflate criticising Israel with anti-Semitism I would not be writing this column in this way if the UK Parliament’s home affairs select committee had not dragged my homeland, Palestine, into the controversy surrounding …
Continue reading Redefining anti-Semitism will not silence Palestinians’ struggle for justice
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 …
First published by the Middle East Eye 25/7/2016 Israel and its supporters often accuse supporters of Palestinian rights for unfairly singling Israel out for criticism. They suggest that with so many abusers of human rights around the world, the focus should be on them, with some suggesting that once all the other abusers have been …
Continue reading Who singles out Israel, its critics or its apologists?
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