Jonathan Kuttab

Arab Christians have played a unique and vital role in the history of the Middle East.This history is well worth remembering in the current context when again the confrontation between the Arab World and the West utilizes religious terms and is presented as a struggle between Western Christianity and Islam.

by Jonathan Kuttab

an interview with Jonathan Kuttab

bitterlemons: What is your immediate reaction to talk in Israeli circles about formally applying the Fourth Geneva Convention to the occupied territories?

Kuttab: My immediate reaction is that Israel has been in violation of the Geneva Conventions since 1967, but that Israel is currently under international pressure, largely because of the case [on the wall] that was brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to try and bring its actions a little more into compliance with international law. I think Israel is afraid of being in the position of a pariah state, like South Africa was.

by Mubarak Awad and Jonathan Kuttab

Excerpts from a policy brief presented to the Washington-based Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine

The Palestinian people have a genuine chance to achieve their national goals, in spite of the enormous gap between them and their foes, if they pursue a conscious, organized strategy of non-violent resistance to the occupation on a massive scale. For this to succeed, it must be adopted on a massive scale by large segments of the Palestinian population and by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) itself. It must involve a long-term commitment and not simply be symbolic or episodic in character. Political discussion within the community must be revived so that participation is universal and everyone has a voice instead of a gun.

To this end, we must call for immediate national elections. The armed factions must be transformed into political parties, and a new Palestinian Social Democratic party must be established to provide a political home for those who are dissatisfied with the current factions. If the Israeli authorities try to block such elections, the elections themselves will become a battlefield for the non-violent struggle.

by Jonathan Kuttab

The issue of appealing to Israeli courts has been a controversial one in Palestinian circles since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967. Some saw it as giving legitimacy to such courts, which were clearly Zionist in their orientation and decisions. Others saw in such appeals a futile exercise in placing ourselves at the mercy of our oppressors. The local proverb was "If your opponent is your judge, to whom you can bring your complaint?"

This point of view had great merit, particularly in light of the fact that Israeli jurisprudence followed the positivist theory, which was built on following the literal text of the laws, in a country where there was no overarching constitution allowing someone to challenge the constitutionality of a law or military order under superior notions of justice. The Israeli occupation had taken full advantage of this by making sure that all of its actions were covered by "military orders", over one thousand in number, which contained broad language that gave military commanders wide authority, and which the courts did nothing to restrict.

by Jonathan Kuttab

The collapse of the "peace process," and the subsequent cycle of bloodshed and violence that is currently raking Israel /Palestine, has left many of us confused, bewildered and without a clue.

Yet this collapse of the peace process should provide an opportunity to reconsider the whole process and to ask some serious questions as to whether it was not based on flawed premises that were bound to lead to such an outcome. It is also important to ask whether the fevered attempts to revive that process by the likes of the U.S. State Department, the CIA, and indeed Ariel Sharon, are worthy of the support of people of goodwill who are concerned about peace, justice and reconciliation.