Questions of chaos
As Bush and Blair reaffirm their commitment to solving the Palestinian question, Azmi Bishara finds himself in a perfect piece of Becket
Azmi Bishara / Al Ahram Weekly - 20 November 2004

Farewell Arafat
Arafat surprised us by not surprising us. Some fusion between the ailing man and the ailing narrative had preordained the end, preventing the tragic hero from imparting his unique imprint upon his fate. This time, there was no miracle, no surprise: the tragedy was reduced to a long, drawn-out, banal television serial.
Mahmoud Darwish / Al Ahram Weekly - 18 November 2004

Power to the patriarch
YASSER Arafat, the great survivor - a militant for half a century - is dead. He escaped a dozen assassination attempts plus targeted shootings by the Jordanian air force in Amman in 1970 and the Israeli air force in Lebanon in 1982 and in Tunisia in 1985. He thwarted endless attempts to destabilise his movement. He and his weaponry were thrown out of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria; then he was confined in Tunisia for 10 years.
Eric Rouleau / Le Monde Diplomatique - 17 November 2004

Israel: verdict on the wall
The International Court of Justice has condemned Israel’s wall by a near-unanimous vote, but nobody knows if the United Nations will act on the recommendations and demolish a structure that symbolises only hatred.
Willy Jackson / Le Monde Diplomatique - 15 November 2004

Yasser Arafat | Obituary
From an early age, Muhammad Abdul Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, the sixth child of a Palestinian spice, incense and grocery merchant, sensed that a high destiny awaited him. It did - but Yasser Arafat, who has died aged 75, assuredly earned it by his own endeavours too.
David Hirst / The Guardian - 11 November 2004

Dude, where are the Arabs?
Amira Howeidy wonders why the Arabs have rallied around Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11
Amira Howeidy / Al Ahram - 13 September 2004

Waiting at the checkpoints
The first moment at Bet Iba, the first check point we went to at the south entrance to Nablus, I thought I was on a movie set, the Palestinians and soldiers are extras, the cars and donkeys in line part of the art department, the guns, and sand bags behind which the soldiers stood, - props. Only myself and the other 3 women from Machsom (checkpoint) Watch were free to walk among these entities, just like in the many years I had worked in films as a script supervisor and walked among such staged scenes. Only it was not a movie.
Elana Golden / AMIN - 11 September 2004

Concern for the small animals
Two main demands have been raised by environment groups in connection with the environmental damage caused by the separation fence: "environmental compensation" within the Green Line and "setting up crossing points for small animals."
Meron Benvenisti / Ha'aretz - 10 September 2004

The Emerging Case for a Single State in Palestine
Recently, the debate about Israel and Palestine has taken an odd turn. The idea of a single democratic state in historic Palestine, once thought dead, has re-emerged as an option worthy of consideration. For some, the idea of a single state is a matter of realism.
Todd May / AMIN - 09 September 2004

Racism within the ranks
Zionism also trampled over Arab Jews, writes Yehudith Harel*
Yehudith Harel / Al Ahram - 08 September 2004

Qualified green light
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is likely to gain the conditional backing of the Bush administration for his Gaza disengagement plan at a time both leaders are eager for even small successes, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington
Khaled Dawoud / Al Ahram Weekly - 12 April 2004

Looking for trouble
Israel this week upped the ante at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque when hundreds of policemen indiscriminately attacked thousands of Muslim worshippers, reports Khaled Amayreh
Khalid Amayreh / Al Ahram Weekly - 08 April 2004

No concession
Sharon's disengagement plan may appear to presage the end of the occupation, but closer examination reveals the pitfalls ahead for Palestinians and their hopes for an independent state, writes Jonathan Cook
Jonathan Cook / Al Ahram Weekly - 07 April 2004

Israel: off the road map
The assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin was a catastrophic mistake by Ariel Sharon and his government in Israel. Israelis and Palestinians will pay the price - and possibly so will the whole region.
Alain Gresh / Le Monde Diplomatique - 01 April 2004