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Year: 2014

‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’: Things I Learned Writing about the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud Writing about and reporting the Middle East is not an easy task, especially during these years of turmoil and upheaval. While physical maps remain largely intact, the geopolitical map of the region […]

Palestinian Statehood Bid Fails at UN Security Council as US, Australia Vote against
The UN Security Council has failed to adopt the Arab coalition’s bid calling for the creation of a Palestinian state and an end to Israeli “occupation”. The veto power US and Australia voted against the […]

Unity Govt to ‘Work out’ Issue of Gaza Employees
The Palestinian unity government pledged Tuesday to “work out” the issue of government employees in Gaza. Ihab Bseiso, the spokesman of the national consensus government, said in a news conference that the unity government would […]

Hamas Leader Condemns Abbas UN Draft Resolution
A Hamas leader on Saturday said that the draft resolution in favor of Palestinian statehood presented to the UN Security Council was “disastrous,” and that it has “no future in the land of Palestine.” The […]

Palestine Marks 6th Anniversary of 2008-9 Israeli Assault on Gaza
Palestinians around the world on Saturday commemorated the sixth anniversary of the beginning of Israel’s 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip in 2008-9 that left more than 1,400 dead. This year’s commemorations take place in […]

PA Dilly-dallying Must Stop
By Jamal Kanj On January first, it will be 50 years since the start of the modern Palestinian revolution; and on the 15th it will be 10 years since Mahmoud Abbas was first, and last, […]

CIA Torture Report: Will South Africa Own Up?
By Iqbal Jassat During the era of Nelson Mandela’s first cabinet in post-apartheid South Africa, a controversial report on so-called Muslim terrorism marked “top secret” emerged. While the government at the time denied any knowledge […]

Embassy: Around 2,500 Palestinians Dead or Missing in Syria War
The number of Palestinians confirmed killed in Syria during the ongoing civil conflict has reached around 1,200-1,300, while an equal number are considered missing, the Palestinian Embassy in Syria announced Thursday. The statistics reveal the […]

Potemkin Villages at Erez Checkpoint
By Tamar Fleishman At 1878 governor general Grigory Potemkin, one of Catherine the Great’s statesmen, erected painted facades of prosperous villages on the deserted banks of the Dniester River, where the convoy of the empress […]

Palestinian Killed, Israeli Soldier Injured in Gaza Gunfight
A Palestinian man was killed and an Israeli soldier seriously injured during a gun battle in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli forces fired heavily in border areas in Khuzaa […]

Thousands Gather in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve Celebrations
Tens of thousands of Palestinian and international pilgrims crowded the streets of Bethlehem on Wednesday to mark Christmas according to the Western Christian calendar. The celebrations mark the beginning of Bethlehem’s Christmas season and were […]

Mads Gilbert: ‘People Are Questioning Israel’ – Interview
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Norwegian surgeon Dr. Mads Gilbert speaks of his experiences in Gaza and the changing international perception of Israel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxoWqpXoybo

Fighting ‘Islamic State’ is Not the Israeli Priority
By Nicola Nasser Defying a consensus that it is a priority by the world community comprising international rivals like the United States, Europe, Russia and China and regional rivals like Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, […]

Abbas Says to Cut Ties with Israel if UN Resolution Fails
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday said the PA will cut ties with the Israeli government if a draft resolution presented last week to the UN fails to pass. Speaking to reporters in Algeria, […]

Zionism and its Discontents – Book Review
Reviewed by Ludwig Watzal (Ran Greenstein, Zionism and its Discontents. A Century of Radical Dissent in Israel/Palestine, Pluto Press, London 2014, 248 pp.) Nationalist narratives and political movements have dominated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for a […]

5 Reasons Why 2014 was a Game Changer in Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud In terms of losses in human lives, 2014 has been a horrific year for Palestinians, surpassing the horrors of both 2008 and 2009, when an Israeli war against the Gaza Strip killed […]

Jailed Fatah Leader Criticizes UN Resolution on Palestine
Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi on Monday criticized the UN resolution submitted to the Security Council by the PLO, urging the Palestinian leadership to reword the proposal. In a letter received by Ma’an from jail, […]

Israel Issues Demolition Orders to East Jerusalem Homes
Israeli forces on Monday issued five demolitions orders to Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, the owners said. Akram al-Shurafa told Ma’an that his home in al-Tur, which was built in 1938 and inherited from his […]

51 Palestinian Migrants Detained in Egypt Released
Egyptian authorities on Saturday released 51 Palestinians who had been detained in the North Sinai city of El-Arish after they attempted to travel to Europe by taking boats from the Egyptian coast. Chief of the […]

Israel Makes Mosque a Museum, while 10,000 Have Nowhere to Pray
Authorities in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba have recently converted an historic mosque into an Islamic museum despite the fact that 10,000 local Muslims still have nowhere to pray, locals said. Locals told Ma’an […]

Israel Slams UN Demand It Pay Lebanon for Oil Spill Damage
Israel has been highly critical of a UN General Assembly resolution that calls it to compensate Beirut for the damages caused by a major oil spill that was a result of an Israeli air force […]

Yousef al-Rammouni and Israel’s Moral Suicide
By Vacy Vlazna Abu Dis, home to descendants of Salah ad-Din, lies 3.8 kms from the Old City of Al Quds* which can be seen over the obscenity of the Annexation Wall from homes on […]

US, Israel Torturers and Drone Killers
By Jamal Kanj I watched painfully former vice-president Dick Cheney on ‘Meet the Press’ programme trying to defend and redefine his role in the ‘authorised’ CIA torture. Whenever he was asked about a specific torture […]

Ralph Nader’s Recommended Holiday Reading for the Agitated Mind
By Ralph Nader 1. The Invisible Soldiers by Ann Hagedorn (Simon & Schuster, 2014). Ann Hagedorn, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal tells the troubling story of the corporatization of America’s national security—a […]

Warning on Funds, UN Doubles Estimate of Destroyed Gaza Homes
The UN warned Thursday it was running out of funds to house families in Gaza, as it doubled its estimate of the number of homes damaged or destroyed in this summer’s war with Israel. “Unless […]

Israeli Role in Syrian Conflict Brought into the Open
By Nicola Nasser Overtly, the Israeli superpower of the Middle East has been keen to posture as having no role whatsoever in the four-year old devastating conflict in Syria, where all major regional and international […]

The Unspeakable in Afghanistan
By Patrick Kennelly – Kabul 2014 marks the deadliest year in Afghanistan for civilians, fighters, and foreigners. The situation has reached a new low as the myth of the Afghan state continues. Thirteen years into […]

EU Parliament Passes Resolution to Support Recognition of Palestine
The European Parliament on Wednesday passed a resolution supporting recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. The EU parliament supports “in principle recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two […]

Hamas Applauds EU Decision to Remove Movement from Terror List
The Hamas movement on Wednesday applauded the European Union General Court for its decision to remove Hamas from its list of terrorist organizations earlier in the day. Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil told Ma’an that he […]

100 Palestinian Prisoners Suspend Hunger Strike
Over 100 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails on Wednesday suspended a hunger strike after three days of negotiations with the Israeli prison administration, a Palestinian Prisoners’ Society official said. The committee responsible for […]