BOOK REVIEW: Popular Protest in Palestine: the uncertain future of unarmed resistance

A comprehensive and detailed work, “Popular Protest in Palestine: the uncertain future of unarmed resistance” (Pluto Press 2015) provides a historical overview of Palestinian activism and popular resistance. It weaves the narrative up to the present and portrays the cycle which has contributed to the spasmodic visibility which, unfortunately, has resulted in fragmentation, despite the…

Jared Kushner, the US and the elimination of Palestinian refugees

The revelations contained in Jared Kushner’s correspondence which seek to terminate the Palestinians’ refugee status has been the source of much controversy this past month, with little recognition of how Israel has been lobbying for such a violation to occur. In an internal email to other senior US advisors, Kushner wrote: “It is important to have…

How the MLI is normalising Israel through selective narratives

The Shalom Hartman Institute’s Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI) barely manages to conceal its agenda. Launched in 2013, it has strived to marginalise Palestinians through its programme that emphasises fabrications of “conflict” to justify the prevailing Zionist colonial narrative. The institute’s choice of manipulation tactics lies in how to apply selectivity and disseminate the results to…

Reporting BDS victories should shift focus on Palestinians not celebrities

Mere days before the World Cup hype commences, Argentina dealt a blow to Israel’s image by canceling a scheduled friendly match which would have been played in Jerusalem. The Israeli government reportedly had agreed to pay $3 million to the team on the condition that Lionel Messi plays in the match. The plan backfired spectacularly. Following intense…

BOOK REVIEW Zionism and its Discontents: A Century of Radical Dissent in Israel/Palestine

Contemporary perspectives of class struggle, the anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggle in Palestine have been thoroughly discussed in Ran Greenstein’s book, “Zionism and its Discontents: A century of radical dissent in Israel/Palestine”. Presenting an analysis of prominent movements involved in the challenge to the Zionist settler-colonial project, the book discusses four main political movements within their…

The PA has found its ‘waiting’ counterpart

During another routine meeting, this time the 17th session of the Assembly of State Parties of the International Criminal Court, the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Riad Al-Maliki, complained of the ICC’s procrastination in investigating Israel for war crimes. Al-Maliki is reported to have expressed his “disappointment” during his meeting with ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda….

Reject UN ‘solidarity’ and stand with the Palestinians

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s statement marking International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People could not debase itself much further. Guterres calls for “all actors… to take bold steps and restore faith in the promise of UN General Assembly Resolution 181,” also known as the UN Partition Plan for Palestine. In other words, he…

BOOK REVIEW: Urbicide in Palestine. Spaces of Oppression and Resilience.

“The contemporary military urbanisation is about spatial engineering and reorganisation via complex surveillance and control and in many cases via the lethal devastation of cities.” Nurhan Abujidi’s defining introduction to “Urbicide in Palestine: spaces of oppression and resilience” (Routledge, 2014) sets the foundation from which hegemonic dictates regarding destruction are unravelled, revealing complex and intertwining…