2012 News

December 30, 2012 Full text: Abbas speech to UN General Assembly

Palestine comes today to the United Nations General Assembly at a time when it is still tending to its wounds and still burying its beloved martyrs of children, women and men who have fallen victim to the latest Israeli aggression.

December 25, 2012 Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them

A senior Christian clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem. When he returned to his car, a man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down, the Jew spat in his face

December 21, 2012 Palestinian Investor Creates Facts on the Ground

Today, on a commanding hilltop north of Ramallah, some 2,500 workers and 88 pieces of heavy machinery are busy crafting a different story. They are part of a vast, costly and complex effort to transform this picturesque site into Rawabi, the first ever planned Palestinian city.

December 19, 2012 Palestine and Israel: A Bloody Saga

The triumph of lunacy over sanity will result in tears for Israelis, Palestinians and the wider region

December 9, 2012 Obama and Israel are walking away from two-state solution with Palestinians

By refusing to support the Palestinian bid at the UN, President Obama has essentially endorsed a No State Solution between Israel and Palestine. Changing course is possible. A good place to start would be threatening to remove US aid to Israel, given its plans for more settlement building.

December 8, 2012 The demographics of Israel's settlement policy leads to One State Solution

We have created an infogram to illustrate and explain how demographic changes within the West Bank obstruct the possibility of the two-state solution. The numbers suggest that Abbas' bid to the United Nations was too little, too late

December 8, 2012 If Not Two States, Then One State Solution

However heavy the blow to Palestinian aspirations, an equally heavy political price for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's E1 plan will be paid by Israelis. For by terminating the prospect of a two-state solution, Netanyahu will also be sealing the fate of an exclusively Jewish state.

December 3, 2012 Middle East conflict: it's time for Europe to suggest its own path to peace

But occasional talk of punishing Israel - for example by suspending its valued 1995 association agreement with the EU or other co-operation programmes - has remained that, just talk

December 3, 2012 Israel withholds $120mn in Palestinian tax funds as revenge for UN vote

Israel has canceled the transfer of US$120 million collected in taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority in response to Palestine's UN-bid, which saw it granted non-member observer status, thus implicitly recognizing the state.

December 3, 2012 Three good things that came from the Palestinian statehood

So when most of the nations of the world voted in the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to recognize Palestine as a symbolic member state, many saw the move as a pre-emption of that peace process and a provocation that would only drive the two parties further into conflict

November 30, 2012 U.N. Assembly, in Blow to U.S., Elevates Status of Palestine

More than 130 countries voted on Thursday to upgrade Palestine to a nonmember observer state of the United Nations, a triumph for Palestinian diplomacy and a sharp rebuke to the United States and Israel.

November 29, 2012 U.N. General Assembly votes to recognize Palestinian state

The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians but an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States.

November 29, 2012 U.N. boosts Palestinians' status to nonmember observer state

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas won 138 of the assembly's 193 votes, including those of some key European states, for his proposal to have the territories' standing upgraded to "nonmember observer state" from "nonmember observer entity."

November 29, 2012 Strong European support for Palestinian statehood move

Palestinian President has been leading the campaign to win support for the resolution, and some European governments have offered him their support after an eight-day conflict this month between Israel and HAMAS

November 29, 2012 U.N. set to implicitly recognize Palestinian state, despite U.S., Israel threats

A resolution that would change the Palestinian Authority's U.N. observer status from "entity" to "non-member state," like the Vatican, is expected to pass easily in the 193-nation General Assembly

November 29, 2012 Germany backtracks on Palestinian bid; Israeli official: 'We lost Europe'

Hours before the UN General Assembly vote, Germany decides to abstain, instead of voting against; Netanyahu says the decision will not advance the establishment of a Palestinian state.

November 25, 2012 Muslim Cleric in Gaza: Sin to Violate Truce with Israel

An Islamic cleric in Gaza has issued a religious edict declaring it a sin to violate the truce arranged last week between Israel and Hamas. The fatwa - a religious edict - was ruled by Imam Suleiman al-Daya late Saturday

November 23, 2012 Egyptian-Mediated Israel-Hamas Truce Terms Detailed

After 24 hours, crossings into Gaza are to be opened and the movement of people and goods is to be allowed

November 19, 2012 Israel's Shortsighted Assassination

When we were negotiating with Hamas to release Mr. Shalit, members of the Israeli team believed that Mr. Jabari wouldn't make a deal because holding Mr. Shalit was a kind of "life insurance policy."

November 19, 2012 Pounding Gaza will not solve Israel's problems

The current framework for so-called peace process is driven by the Israelis' insistence on tangible security guarantees, which erode the principle of sovereignty

November 19, 2012 Israel's failed strategy

For years, Israelis have embraced a theory of "deterrence" with respect to the Gaza Strip. The idea is that if Gazans feel enough pain, they will refrain from attacking Israel.

November 8, 2012 Obama victory spells trouble for Israel's Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces an even more awkward time with Washington and re-energized critics at home who accused him on Wednesday of backing the loser in the U.S. presidential election.

November 4, 2012 Ahmad Issa Farhan 1947-2012

Ahmad Issa Farhan, 65, passed away Tuesday evening, Oct. 30, 2012. Ahmad was born Feb. 8, 1947 in Jerusalem, Palestine, to Aisha Ibrahim Lutfi and Issa Ahmad Farhan. He spent his boyhood in Bethlehem, Palestine

October 25, 2012 The death of two-state solution brings fresh hope

With many Palestinians and Israelis coming round to the idea of a bi-national state, it's possible to glimpse a peaceful future

October 22, 2012 Documentary, "Would You Have Sex With an Arab," explores Israeli and Arab attitudes toward sex with the "other."

We were writing a script on Golda Meir's love affair with a Palestinian. The grandson of the Palestinian lover told the story. This was a secret of course, a shameful secret to have slept with the enemy for Palestinians.

October 22, 2012 American Jewish Efforts to Silence an Appeal for Human Rights

Two weeks ago, fifteen religious leaders representing major Protestant denominations dared to urge Congress to investigate whether unconditional U.S. military assistance to Israel is contributing to violations of Palestinian human rights

October 18, 2012 Watershed moment for religious teaching in Egypt

In a noteworthy development that has been largely unreported by foreign media, Egypt's Ministry of Education announced that a new human rights class for 11th grade students will use portions of the Bible in its curriculum and will discuss non-Muslim rights in Islam.

October 15, 2012 UN Agency: Israel Continues to Impede Palestinians' Access to Basic Services

The UN agency blamed Israel for harm caused to the Palestinian people.

October 8, 2012 Onetime Insider Now Takes Aim at Jewish Leadership

"It's hard for me to speak about it," he said in an interview with the Forward, "but I fear that Israel cannot continue to exist even 50 years if it continues in the current path."

October 6, 2012 Extreme Racisim in Israel

Two young Palestinian Israelis who came second in an international Physics Competition in Warsaw are omitted conspicuously in a racist report on the winners in Israel Hayom

September 17, 2012 Jews Write Anti-Christian graffiti on Jerusalem Church

"Death to Christianity," profanity about Jesus scrawled on Baptist church in apparent "price tag" attack.

September 17, 2012 The occupation and economics: No freedom for Palestinians

The gruelling economic crisis that grips Palestine today has exposed the magnitude of the fiction of the possibility of Palestinian economic development under an occupation

September 12, 2012 An Israeli filmmaker went into hiding after his movie attacking Islam's prophet sparked angry assaults

An Israeli filmmaker based in California went into hiding after his movie attacking Islam's prophet sparked angry assaults by ultra-conservative Muslims on U.S. missions in Egypt and Libya, where one American was killed.

September 11, 2012 Vatican official says Israel fostering intolerance of Christianity

The Israeli government's failure to respond adequately to Jewish extremist attacks against churches and monasteries is fostering a climate of intolerance towards Christianity in the country, a senior Vatican official in Jerusalem has warned.

September 5, 2012 Democrats add 'Jerusalem' Back to Party Platform Amid Boos
August 30, 2012 America's waning influence in the Middle East

With all its power, why isn't America more admired and respected? Exactly what's going on here?

August 18, 2012 Why Israel is "singled out"

Those who assert that Israel is being "singled out" aren't interested in assessing where to rank Israel on the scoreboard of global human rights violators.

August 15, 2012 Don't go to Israel, says South Africa

The government has made it official that its policy is to discourage South Africans from visiting Israel.

August 12, 2012 The Palestine Romney doesn't know

I am a proud American. I am a hardworking businessman and job creator. I am a faithful Christian.

And I am Palestinian

August 9, 2012 Bibi Netanyahu's Nephew Says That Israel Is an Apartheid State

Jonathan Ben-Artzi reveals a perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is completely missing from the discourse in the U.S.

August 5, 2012 Occupation, Not Culture, Is Holding Palestinians Back

There was little anger when Mr. Romney made thinly veiled racist allusions to the supposed inferiority of Palestinian culture

July 18, 2012 Ex-Israeli diplomat: Boycott my country

Liel remembers from his days as an envoy to apartheid-era South Africa what a full-blown academic boycott resembles: South African academics isolated from their colleagues in most countries,

July 18, 2012 Disney heiress Abigail disowns her share of family profits in West Bank company

Great-niece of the legendary animator Walt Disney - has publicly renounced her share of the family profits from an Israeli firm she claims is exploiting "occupied natural resources".

July 7, 2012 For Egypt's new Islamist government, jobs are first priority

The party's economic blueprint describes an ambitious drive to attract more than $200 billion in foreign investments,

July 7, 2012 A sheikh, settlers and MPs meet in Hebron Hills tent

Representatives of Hebron's Jewish community, European parliamentarians accept invitation from sheikh with vision one democratic state for all.

July 6, 2012 Israeli Identity Is at the Heart of a Debate on Service

How many ultra-Orthodox men and Arab citizens should be drafted into the military or national service, over how many years and how should those who resist be penalized?

June 25, 2012 Named Egypt's Winner, Islamist Makes History

Egypt's military rulers on Sunday officially recognized Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood as the winner of Egypt's first competitive presidential election.

June 24, 2012 The Third Intifada Is Inevitable

Palestinian security forces have little reason to believe their efforts are advancing national goals, and Israel can't assume that the Palestinian Authority will provide security indefinitely.

June 22, 2012 'Son of Hamas' to Make Film About Islam, Prophet Muhammad

Kamal Nawash, founder of the Free Muslims Coalition, told The Christian Post that he felt Yousef's project would not be "significant."

June 21, 2012 Muslims Must Protect Arab Christians

The last 10 years have not been easy for Arab Christians. Numerous events, including the U.S. invasion of Iraq has inspired the belief that the "Christian West" has declared war on Muslims of the Middle East.

June 20, 2012 Saudi Arabia at a Crossroads

Even if Prince Naif's death does not change the status quo in the kingdom, it will remove an octopus-like nightmare most Saudis, including members of his own family.

May 23, 2012 Israeli rabbis clamp down on burka

Israeli rabbis are to clamp down on the growing number of devout Jewish women wearing the burka by declaring the garment an item of sexual deviancy.

May 20, 2012 Transcend the two-state solution: create a federated state

With the end to the solution based on two separate states, all immediate efforts, energies and funding must be directed towards determining the best way to have two states in one geographical space.

May 20, 2012 Netanyahu warns of infiltrators 'flooding' Israel

Interior minister Yishai says African migrants should be jailed or expelled; Aharonovich to request emergency meeting

May 5, 2012 Egypt's Popular Anger Shifts to Israel and Saudi Arabia

Although Israel has long been the target of Arab columnists, Saudi Arabia never faced large, sustained public criticism in Egypt during the Mubarak era

April 29, 2012 Egypt's Islamist Candidate calls for a Secular State

Egypt's most conservative Islamists endorsed a liberal Islamist for president late Saturday night

April 26, 2012 The Kairos Palestine Document

We, a group of Christian Palestinians, cry out from within the suffering in our country, under the Israeli occupation.

April 24, 2012 Netanyahu was briefed on efforts to stop '60 Minutes' report on Israel's Christians

Netanyahu was fully updated by Israeli ambassador to U.S. Michael Oren on his attempts to halt an investigative report on Israel's treatment of its Christian community stians

April 18, 2012 Israel's latest overreaction

A brutal new video reveals how out-of-touch the country's leaders are with the security reality

April 15, 2012 One state - one vote: Rethinking an Israeli Spring

There is no denying that settlement construction, Palestinian disunity, and other factors are fast rendering the two-state concept impracticable.

April 15, 2012 Two-State Solution Declared Dead

"It's time to raise the white flag, to admit publicly that the two-state solution has been foiled." It was doomed, he says, by "the plundering settlers, the establishment that embraces them and the majority of Israelis, who do not lift a finger to stop them."

April 6, 2012 Palestinian Christians Find Hope in Easter

Indeed, Palestinian Christians are continuing to be steadfast in the face of 45 years of Israeli military occupation that has caused their presence to dwindle in the land that has been their home since the beginning of Christianity.

April 1, 2012 Iraq Casts a Pall Over U.S. Effort to Fathom Iran

At the nation's top spy agency, the ghosts of Iraq are never far away.

March 15, 2012 How Israel Helped Create Hamas

Hamas is partly an intentional creation of Israel that dates back to the 1970s.

March 10, 2012 A Jewish and democratic state cannot be fulfilled

"The dream of a Jewish and democratic state cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation," Obama has said. Netanyahu and many of his supporters believe otherwise; too often, they consider the tenets of liberal democracy to be negotiable.

March 10, 2012 Settler MK Uri Ariel calls for one state

One of the well known figures in the settler movement, Knesset Member Uri Ariel from the radical rightwing National Union Party, is publicly calling for a one-state solution as an alternative to the construction of a Palestinian state, the independent news site Srugim reported.

March 6, 2012 "As the Arabs see the Jews"

No people on earth have been less "anti-Semitic" than the Arabs. The persecution of the Jews has been confined almost entirely to the Christian nations of the West.

March 4, 2012 U.S. Backers of Israel Pressure Obama Over Policy on Iran

To give teeth to the deterrent threat against Iran, Israel want Mr. Obama to stop urging restraint on Israel

March 4, 2012 The Two-State-Solution is Dead, One-State is the Answer

Former Knesset Speaker Avrum Burg endorsed the one-state solution in an article in Haaretz in December 2011, and called the entire left to do the same.

February 28, 2012 The dilemma for Syria's neighbours

The one state that is directly implicated by the events in Syria is Israel. This is because the Israeli Prime Minister would prefer the Assad regime to continue; it is a known quantity and any new regime could severely destabilise the effective balance-of-power between two uneasy neighbours.

January 21, 2012 Documentary on Free Muslims effort to Create Union between Israel/Palestine

The Free Muslims Coalition has just learned that one of Israel's top film makers has agreed to do a documentary on the efforts of Kamal Nawash and his Israeli Partners to create a union between Israel and Palestine.

January 20, 2012 Egyptian scholar says Islamist win is just a blip

The 91-year-old younger brother of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, which took 45 per cent of seats in elections, believes Egypt needs a 'more open society'.

January 15, 2012 'One state, two provinces'

Only one state will exist on the lands that currently make up Israel, the West Bank and Gaza; but that state will be divided into two provinces, one province will be called Israel, and the other Palestine

January 1, 2012 Kamal Nawash Demand Equality for Palestinians at Jewish Settlement of Ariel

One of the Arab speakers was Attorney Kamal Nawash, President of the Free Muslims Coalition, whose proposal is one country for Jews and Arabs which provides security, independence, and self-determination that each side needs.