Daoud Kuttab

The question seemed simple. A European official wanted to know if the peace was just around the corner, or far away.

On the surface of it, one can tick off a number of positive signals. Palestinian and Israeli negotiators recently exchanged letters outlying their various political positions...

For years the Arab world has been searching for the perfect Arab democratic model. Progressive young Arabs want a Western-style democratic model, but older democrats argue that we have to discover our own model, not copy and paste models from this or that country.

Islam, of course, confused this search....

This week, two totally different cases saw real progress towards resolution due to persistence, focus on achievable results and the use of nonviolent means. Palestinian prisoners and supporters of their just and reasonable requests in Palestine, the Arab world, and the international community saw a successful resolution of their demands....

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stunned Israelis Tuesday morning with a political shocker. He convinced his largest opposition leader, Shaul Mofaz, to join his coalition, thus cancelling early elections scheduled for September.

Speaking to the media, Netanyahu said that the coalition agreement (called by some in...

The Palestinian conflict is going through one of its strangest stages these days. So much is going against Palestine, yet so much is going for it.

Israel was never as arrogant in its treatment of Palestinians and its expansionist policy, and the U.S. government as well as the international community...

A flurry of visits by Arab and Islamic officials to East Jerusalem in the past few weeks has left Palestinians wondering what is happening.

Prince Hashem visited Jerusalem followed by a joint visit of Prince Ghazi and Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa. The head of Jordan's...

Israeli politicians are very good at negotiating with themselves. Shaul Mofaz is not much different. The Mofaz plan that apparently helped propel him to the top of the Kadima party suggests that Israel would cede some 10 percent of the territories in the West Bank as a first...

Easter is celebrated in Jerusalem and surrounding Palestinians cities both religiously and culturally. Children wave beautifully weaved palm leaves on Palm Sunday, Boy Scout-led marches celebrate Sabt el Noor (Holy Fire), when the light comes out of the Church of the Holy Seplechure and is welcomed with marching...

The Jordanian government presented the draft elections law to Parliament. It is sure to garner much discussion before it is finally approved and published in the Official Gazette.

For starters, this would be one of the times an election law is actually debated in Parliament and not issued...

The end of Hana Shalabi's 44-day hunger strike has produced mixed results, and has pointed out another under-reported issue -- the separation and difficulty of movement between Gaza and West Bank.

Shalabi, like Khader Adnan before her, have done a great service to fellow Palestinians by...

The U.S. president and the executive branch have the most significant role in making foreign policy and are responsible for carrying it out.

Congress has the right to approve, recommend or reject foreign aid bills submitted to it, but it rarely blatantly opposes the executive branch's foreign policy...

Hana Shalabi has been on hunger strike for over a month. Her condition has been deteriorating so badly that prison officials had to transfer her to a Haifa hospital (though she wasn't admitted to the hospital).

Shalabi is protesting being held in administrative detention. These detentions are quasi-legal...

Palestinians took advantage of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated cities and the transitional period to capture their airwaves and provide local communities with radio and television programs.

At times, some of the young entrepreneurs involved in this were forced to buy used transmitters from the Israeli black market....

For the second year running, a unique event took place in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem this week. Christian evangelicals that many consider as most ardent supporters for Israel (often more so than many Israelis) were guests of a Palestinian Christian gathering.

The "Christ at the Checkpoint" conference,...

In the summer of 1996, I was excited to hear the good news. The Palestinian Ministry of Information had agreed to a request to grant us a license for an educational television station to broadcast in Ramallah. With little funding and tremendous passion we began building up the station with...

The invitation by the Palestinian president to Arabs and Muslims to visit Jerusalem is long overdue. But it is better late than never.

Jerusalem's 300,000 Palestinians badly needed this visit, which comes at a time that their natural hinterland (the rest of the West Bank) has been cut...

It might have been a small gesture, but it spoke volumes. After Khader Adnan -- the Palestinian administrative detainee in his 66th day of hunger strike -- agreed to end his strike, he refused to eat until all fellow hunger striking Palestinians are informed about such decision.

Speaking on

After months of hibernation, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict seems to be getting more attention of late. Despite the volatility of the situation in Syria and Egypt the most recent agreement reached in the Qatari capital received a lot of media attention. It also seems to have touched a number...

Apologists for Israel's continued occupation and control over Palestinian lives have long contended Israel is more interested in peace than the Palestinians. One exaggerated argument, repeatedly put forward to justify military rule, is that Palestinians teach their children to hate Jews.

Politicians in the U.S.,...

Unlike his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, the current Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is not known for hoarding power or being authoritarian. Abbas will most likely end his revolutionary/professional career in retirement and not in a direct struggle with his enemies.

But in spite of his power-sharing style of management, Abbas finds...