Palestinians face numerous problems when travelling, due to the restrictions imposed upon us by the Israeli occupation. Hundreds of checkpoints and border crossings are erected to control our every movement. These checkpoints and crossings are used as a means of collective punishment for our very existence, which makes our lives even harder. Getting a visa is not an easy task, either. Most countries around the world, including Arab countries, deal with Palestinian passport holders with suspicion. Palestinians travelling to other countries are guilty until we prove otherwise. Every time we travel, Palestinians have to prepare a load of documents that demonstrate our "strong ties to our country." Many Palestinians make fun of the words written on our passports that declare "this travel document/passport is of a great value."In February 2013, I applied to get a visa to conduct a speaking tour in Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud. Thanks to the help of my friends there, I just barely managed to fi nd out where to apply for this document. Two weeks passed, and I had received confl icting information. "Apply to Cairo," I was told. "No, you have to apply to Tel Aviv," an offi cer told me. "The regional offi ce of New Zealand Immigration is based in Dubai," another offi cer affi rmed. "Bangkok is where you have to apply to," a new offi cer Yousef, second from right (all photos by courtesy of the author).
This paper addresses regional circumstances and domestic factors that led to the Trump's decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem as well as responses to the United States move. The US move of relocating embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after recognizing it as the capital of Israel would be likely impossible without the existence of specific domestic circumstances as well as regional developments. Trump wanted to get the support of the pro-Israel Republicans, to appease his pro-Israel donors, to win the support of his evangelical base, and to over-shadow investigations against him in the US. The regional situation in the Middle East made making such a decision an easier task for Trump, with Palestinians divided, Arab governments more willing to accept Israel, and some already in the process of normalizing ties with it. Meanwhile, Arab countries are busy with their own domestic issues following the outbreak of the Arab Spring and civil wars in 2011. All these factors paved the way for Trump to break a taboo in the US foreign policy that was maintained by all former American presidents, many of them are supportive of Israel, thus angering Palestinians and pleasing Israelis.
Following its establishment in 1962, the Muslim World League (MWL) was meant to be an organization that expands the outreach of Saudi Arabia and its then Wahabi version of Islam in the world in the time when other competing ideologies, especially Arab nationalism, were on the rise. This allowed it to carry out religious, cultural, aid and educational programs. At the time, The Saudi adopted version of Islam known as Wahabism was rejected in the western world. This study analyses news reports about the MWL published by mostly western media outlets, by using Critical Discourse Analysis as a theory. This study concludes that the coverage of MWL has changed recently from being negative to being positive with Mohammad Al-Issa assuming the leadership of MWL and with radical changes taking place in Saudi Arabia itself, politically, socially, religiously and culturally. Western media coverage of MWL now connects the organization to coexistence, religious tolerance, openness and moderate thinking and positive view of other faiths. It suggests that MWL has rejected all forms of radicalism and strict interpretation of Islam and calls for unity and building bridges with other religions.
This article examines the West’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist or- ganization. Describing Hamas as such is unfounded. Western terror criterion and Hamas’s Charter is not clear evidence that the movement is not ready to engage in the political process. The article draws a comparison between the Hamas’s Charter and the Charter of the Israeli Likud Party. A number of argu- ments are presented in support of Hamas not being a terrorist organization. Among such evidences are Hamas’s electrical victory in 2006, and many state- ments made by the movement’s leaders. Moreover, Hamas has never threat- ened the West, thus there is no justification to designate it as a terrorist or- ganization. The liberation discourse of the movement and the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories must also be considered. The author concludes that the West is urged to officially talk to Hamas for any lasting peaceful resolution to prevail in the Middle East.
The article examines the early spread of COVID-19 in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in light of nationalism and sovereignty. For Palestinians, the spread of COVID-19 has been challenging due to domestic and regional interactions and limited sovereignty, undermining their ability to combat the virus. Israel, often without coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA), determined who could enter and exit the OPTs, including tens of thousands of Palestinians working in Israel, leading to an increased number of infections in the West Bank. The pandemic awakened Palestinian national sentiment, serving as a reminder of disunity and lack of sovereignty. Despite these challenges, we show that the Palestinian health system unsuccessfully attempted to overcome the crisis. The combination of economic [inter]dependence on Israel, lack of sovereignty, and nationalist resurgence help explain why the Palestinian health sector recorded thousands of cases following the second wave of the virus. COVID-19 has only further revealed how Palestinians could not practically operate independently from Israel.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.