Jonathan Cook

The United Nations’ independent expert on human rights in the Palestinian territories issued a damning verdict last week on what he termed “the longest belligerent occupation in the modern world”. Michael Lynk, a Canadian law professor, told the UN’s human rights council that only urgent international action could prevent Israel’s 52-year occupation of the West … Continue reading “Israel’s New Moves To Airbrush the Occupation”

There is something profoundly deceitful in the way the Democratic Party and the corporate media are framing Donald Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria. One does not need to defend Trump’s actions or ignore the dangers posed to the Kurds, at least in the short term, by the departure of US forces from … Continue reading “Democrats Helped Cultivate the Barbarism of ISIS”

The decades-long struggle by tens of thousands of Israelis against being uprooted from their homes – some for the second or third time – should be proof enough that Israel is not the western-style liberal democracy it claims to be. Last week 36,000 Bedouin – all of them Israeli citizens – discovered that their state … Continue reading “Israel Prepares To Turn Bedouin Citizens Into Refugees in Their Own Country”

It would be a grave mistake to assume that the continuing political deadlock in Israel – with neither incumbent prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main rival Benny Gantz seemingly able to cobble together a coalition government – is evidence of a deep ideological divide. In political terms, there is nothing divided about Israel. In … Continue reading “Why Israel Is Struggling To Find a Way Out of Its Political Deadlock”

For most Israelis, the general election on Tuesday was about one thing and one thing only. Not the economy, nor the occupation, nor even corruption scandals. It was about Benjamin Netanyahu. Should he head yet another far-right government, or should his 10-year divisive rule come to an end? Barring a last-minute upset as the final … Continue reading “Israelis Have Made Their Verdict Clear: Benjamin Netanyahu’s Time Is Up”

Every Israeli prime minister – not least Benjamin Netanyahu – understands that a military entanglement with Hezbollah, Lebanon’s armed Shia movement on Israel’s northern border, is a dangerous wager, especially during an election campaign. It was Shimon Peres who lost to Netanyahu in 1996, weeks after the former prime minister had incensed Israel’s Palestinian minority … Continue reading “Netanyahu Risks Triggering an Unwinnable War To Avoid Losing Election”

Recent events have shone a spotlight not only on how Israel is intensifying its abuse of Palestinians under its rule, but the utterly depraved complicity of western governments in its actions. The arrival of Donald Trump in the White House two-and-a-half years ago has emboldened Israel as never before, leaving it free to unleash new … Continue reading “With Criticism Crushed in the West, Israel Can Enjoy Its Impunity”

Israeli police forced out the Siyam family from their home in the heart of occupied East Jerusalem last week, the final chapter in their 25-year legal battle against a powerful settler organization. The family’s defeat represented much more than just another eviction. It was intended to land a crushing blow against the hopes of some … Continue reading “Theft of Silwan Highlights the Injustice of the Israeli Occupation”

Donald Trump’s supposed “deal of the century,” offering the Palestinians economic bribes in return for political submission, is the endgame of western peacemaking, the real goal of which has been failure, not success. For decades, peace plans have made impossible demands of the Palestinians, forcing them to reject the terms on offer and thereby create … Continue reading “Exactly Like Its Predecessors, Trump’s Peace Plan Has Been Designed To Fail”

A state of de facto annexation already exists on the ground in most of the occupied West Bank. Almost two-thirds of the Palestinian territory, including most of its most fertile and resource-rich land, is under full Israeli control. About 400,000 Jewish settlers living there enjoy the full rights and privileges of Israeli citizens. At least … Continue reading “Annexation: How Israel Already Controls More Than Half of the West Bank”