Jonathan Cook

When President Donald Trump moved the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem last year, effectively sabotaging any hope of establishing a viable Palestinian state, he tore up the international rulebook. Last week, he trampled all over its remaining tattered pages. He did so, of course, via Twitter. Referring to a large piece of territory Israel seized … Continue reading “Trump’s Golan Green Light Paves Way to Israel’s Annexation of West Bank”

The United Nations postponed last week for the third time the publication of a blacklist of Israeli and international firms that profit directly from Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied territories. The international body had come under enormous pressure to keep the database under wraps after lobbying behind the scenes from Israel, the United States … Continue reading “The UN Fails To Name and Shame Firms Aiding Israel’s Illegal Settlements”

"McCarthyism" is a word thrown around a lot nowadays, and in the process its true meaning – and horror – has been increasingly obscured. McCarthyism is not just the hounding of someone because their views are unpopular. It is the creation by the powerful of a perfect, self-rationalizing system of incrimination – denying the victim … Continue reading “Britain’s Witchfinders Are Ready To Burn Jeremy Corbyn”

Israel’s decision to withhold part of the taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and plunge it deeper into crisis starkly illustrates the hypocrisies and deceptions at the core of the two governments’ relationship. Under the terms of what are now the quarter century-old Oslo accords, Israel is responsible for collecting about $200 … Continue reading “Is Israel’s Tax Grab a Prelude To Further Hollowing Out the PA?”

In which country did a senior, state-salaried cleric urge his followers last month to become “warriors”, emulating a group of young men who had murdered a woman of another faith? The cleric did so with impunity. In fact, he was only echoing other highly placed colleagues who have endorsed a book – again without penalty … Continue reading “How the Rule of the Rabbis Is Fueling a Holy War in Israel”

You might imagine that a report by a multinational observer force documenting a 20-year reign of terror by Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers against Palestinians, in a city under occupation, would provoke condemnation from European and US politicians. But you would be wrong. The leaking in December of the report on conditions in the city … Continue reading “In Hebron, Israel Removes the Last Restraint on Its Settlers’ Reign of Terror”

With April’s elections looming, Benjamin Netanyahu has good reason to fear Benny Gantz, his former army chief. Gantz has launched a new party, named Israeli Resilience, just as the net of corruption indictments is closing around the prime minister. Already, at this early stage of campaigning, some 31 per cent of the Israeli public prefer … Continue reading “Israeli General Mounts Challenge to Netanyahu by Flaunting Gaza Carnage”

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu commandeered the country’s airwaves last week in what many assumed would prove a moment of profound national import. They could not have been more wrong. The context was his decision last month to move forward the general election to April, widely seen as a desperate effort to turn the vote … Continue reading “Israeli Politics Enter Grubby Realm of Reality TV”

Two years of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as a Middle East peacemaking team appear to be having a transformative effect – and in ways that will please neither of them. The American public is now evenly split between those who want a two-state solution and those who prefer a single state, shared by Israelis … Continue reading “Growing US Support for One State Falls on Deaf Ears”

Czech president Milos Zeman offered Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultra-nationalist government a fillip during his visit to Israel last week. He inaugurated a cultural and trade center, Czech House, just outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls. At the opening, he expressed hope it would serve as a precursor to his country relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to … Continue reading “Israel’s New War of Attrition on Jerusalem’s Palestinians”