JABEL MUKABBER, Occupied East Jerusalem -- The Palestinian Prime Minister ventured into Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem bypassing Israeli security authorities who tried to stop him. The city's Israeli mayor, who also wanted to venture into the eastern of part of...
Israeli-Palestinian Accommodation: A Circle Not Easily Squared
JERUSALEM - Security first or borders first: security says Israel, borders retort the Palestinians. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are finally again getting under way. Israel, though, remains adamant that the only chance the talks have to make headway is for its...
Middle East: Pessimistic About Peace, Yet…
JERUSALEM - As President Obama on Wednesday initiates the ninth U.S. attempt in the last 30 years to bring about a final Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, expectations are low and pessimism is high. It's precisely why the talks may just succeed. That, however, may...
‘McCarthyism’ Rises in Israel
JERUSALEM - Rightwing Israeli groups financially supported by Jewish and fundamentalist Christian groups from abroad are on a campaign to undermine free thought in Israeli universities. Collaterally, a move is under way by right-wing parties in the Knesset, Israel's...
Uprooted Villagers Hold Fast During Ramadan
JERUSALEM - On the eve of the start of Ramadan last week, Israeli police demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev desert. It was the third time within two weeks that the village had been razed. Unfazed, the Bedouin villagers immediately began...
Work Permits and Ramadan in the West Bank
HIRBET DEIR, Occupied West Bank - For Muhammad el-Baradiyeh, 38, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is always a blessing. In fact, every day of the month-and-a-half prior to Ramadan has been good for Muhammad. Thanks to a permit granted by the Israeli authorities, he's...
Rape, Deception, or Racism?
JERUSALEM - "It was consensual, I owe an apology to no one other than my wife and two children. They're the ones who've suffered from this. And myself." Sabbar Kashur, 30, is a Palestinian Arab resident of the Shuafat neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem. He's just...
Palestinian Chef Finds Occupation Hard to Digest
RAMALLAH - Nasser Abdulhadi is a mild-mannered man who runs a restaurant. He was always known as the jovial sort. One day, his friends say, he stopped being jovial. He chose instead to fight for a world title for one of his country's national dishes, and through that...
Obama, Netanyahu Out of Step With the Peace Beat
JERUSALEM - What led the Middle East hit parade this week was less the chords struck harmoniously at the White House Tuesday by two deft diplomatic dancers than the slick dance routine performed by a squad of Israeli soldiers patrolling the streets of the occupied...
Talks Hit a Rock Called East Jerusalem
SILWAN, East Jerusalem -- The sound of stun grenades and gunfire resounded through this embattled Palestinian neighborhood. Amidst increased tension over plans to tighten Israel's grip over the occupied eastern part of the city, Israeli border police and Palestinian...