Common Ground News Service

What Is the Point of the Palestinian Authority?

What Is the Point of the Palestinian Authority?

DAWOUD ABU LEBDEH, CGNEWS: Its role is minimal compared to that envisaged in the Oslo Accords. Faced with a threat to its existence what should PA do?

 James M. Dorsey

Palestinian Footballer Relives Horror of Detention

Palestinian Footballer Relives Horror of Detention

ANDREA LUCHETTA: Mahmoud Al Sarsak’s detention became an international cause celebre. He has recounted his experience in Israeli jail

 James M. Dorsey

Defensive Blunder: Hamas’ Football Boycott Call

Defensive Blunder: Hamas’ Football Boycott Call

JAMES M. DORSEY: Palestinians of all ages are huge fans of the Spanish football giants Barcelona FC. When Hamas called for a boycott of their match this week it fell on deaf ears.

 Juan Cole

A Brief Middle East History Lesson for Mitt Romney

A Brief Middle East History Lesson for Mitt Romney

JUAN COLE: The Presidential candidate appears to be entirely clueless about the recent history of US involvement in the region. Heres’ some help.

 Mondoweiss

It’s Simple: Americans Don’t Want War With Iran

It’s Simple: Americans Don’t Want War With Iran

PHLIP WEISS: The Israeli lobby is taking a pummelling at the moment as leading commentators stand up to confront it. Is this a real turning point?

 Juan Cole

Benghazi Attack: Romney Gets It Badly Wrong

Benghazi Attack: Romney Gets It Badly Wrong

JUAN COLE: His comments were hasty, distasteful and unwise. Can we afford to have an individual with such poor judgement in the White House?

 Common Ground News Service

‘Cooking For Peace’: Discovering Shared Values

DAVID AMITAI, CGNEWS: In the fevered environment that exists between Palestinians and Jews finding ways to encourage dialogue requires creativity.

 Richard Silverstein

Settlements Strangle Hope For Two State Solution

Settlements Strangle Hope For Two State Solution

RICHARD SILVERSTEIN: You can begin to see the battleground before you. One state, the question is whether this will be democratic, semi-democratic, or a Jewish-dominated theocracy.

 Richard Silverstein

Rachel Corrie – Not the First, Probably Not the Last

Rachel Corrie – Not the First, Probably Not the Last

RICHARD SILVERSTEIN: The IDF (and Border Police) are murderers. They kill civilians. Unarmed civilians. Who protest for justice and human rights. This is no defensive army.

 Juan Cole

Israel Apartheid, Avalon and the Smell of Fear

Israel Apartheid, Avalon and the Smell of Fear

JUAN COLE: Ayalon’s despererate and over-the-top rhetoric smells of fear, fear that when South Africa calls you on Apartheid policies, it legitimizes that critique of the Greater Israel project…

 mai abdul rahman

Israel’s Moral Crisis is a Palestinian Problem Too

Israel’s Moral Crisis is a Palestinian Problem Too

MAI ABDUL RAHMAN: The lives of Palestinians and Israelis are intertwined and interconnected. The actions of one group inevitably impact the other.

 Juan Cole

‘Diplomatic Ruin’, ‘International Isolation’: Peres Has Enough

‘Diplomatic Ruin’, ‘International Isolation’: Peres Has Enough

JUAN COLE: Netanyahu and Barak were intent on boxing Obama into a corner. But the wily octogenarian, Shimon Peres, has stepped in.

 Jonathan Cook

Nazareth Machinations: The Long Game to “Jews Only”

Nazareth Machinations: The Long Game to “Jews Only”

JONATHAN COOK: … Expropriations would become a staple of life over the next three decades as more than 70 per cent of the land belonging to Palestinians was nationalized

 Jonathan Cook

‘Destroy Your Government’: Advice to Palestinians

‘Destroy Your Government’: Advice to Palestinians

JONATHAN COOK: The more that Israel’s international reputation plummets the more generous are Western powers. What should Palestinians do?

 Jonathan Cook

Israel’s Systematic Destruction of Palestine’s Mosques

Israel’s Systematic Destruction of Palestine’s Mosques

JONATHAN COOK: Proof that Israel has been engaging in a proactive campaign to destroy Islamic places of worship under its control is there for all to see.

 Common Ground News Service

One Day On the Beach: Is It Good Enough?

One Day On the Beach: Is It Good Enough?

FRANZISKA KABELITZ, CGNEWS: In a controversial programme young Palestinian children are invited to spend one day on Israeli beaches.

 Ramzy Baroud

‘Arab Solidarity with Palestine’: In Name Only?

‘Arab Solidarity with Palestine’: In Name Only?

RAMZY BAROUD: The authorities in every Arab country are expected to express solidarity with the plight of the Palestinians. Is it just nice noise?

 Mondoweiss

Tourism: How Most Israelis Experience Occupation

Tourism: How Most Israelis Experience Occupation

REBECCA STEIN, MONDOWEISS: They wandered into Jerusalem as gawping tourists after the Six Day war. 45 years on not much has changed

 mai abdul rahman

Israel’s Moral Crisis ‘Is Driving Its Youth Away’

Israel’s Moral Crisis ‘Is Driving Its Youth Away’

MAI ABDUL RAHMAN: The recent case of a young Israeli who has given up citizenship highlights a crisis of faith among its youth.

 Common Ground News Service

What Has Peres Done to Merit Medal of Freedom?

What Has Peres Done to Merit Medal of Freedom?

MIKO PELED, MONDOWEISS: When it comes to Shimon Peres there’s a great struggle to see how he has advanced freedom in the Middle East in any way.