Guest Post: No Partner for Peace…Again?!
Lately, two opinion articles in Haaretz have focused on Mahmoud Abbas‘ role in the so-called “peace process,” both depicting him as a notorious naysayer but with different additives. On the one hand, we have Israel Harel, blatantly espousing his negation of international law as usual (one must only remember the cheeky article he wrote in … Read more
Is the Media Trying to Make a Story Out of Nothing about the Palestinian’s Bid?
It seems that there are more news articles dedicated to the Palestinian bid at the UN than there actually are Palestinians. Everyone has their input about what happens, including the two authors here. Until 10 days ago it was only academics who knew anything about what they were writing, and described the process accordingly. Now … Read more
What can Israel/US possibly Give the Palestinian Leadership to Stop the UN Move?
We are at one week and counting before the Palestinian leadership goes to the United Nations to upgrade their status at the UN to full member, in theory entitling rights under international law they currently lack. There has been able commentary by this and other blogs, along with thousands of inches of media print on … Read more
NFAM Reading List 9/13/2011
Some suggested reading for 9/13: A “Humanitarian War” on Syria? Military Escalation. Towards a Broader Middle East-Central Asian War? - Global Research Kremlin firmly opposes UN sanctions on Syria - Washington Examiner In Syria: 2,600 Dead So Far, UN Official Says - Boise State Public Radio Has the Libyan Insurgency Begun? - Wired Danger Room Libya’s new harvest: the … Read more
Why is it so Hard for the New York Times to Accept International Law in Regards to Palestine and the Palestinians?
As the date of the Palestinian bid at the United Nations looms nearer various people, myself included (just look at most of my past articles), have decided to give a last ditch effort to revive the two state solution (this is where you will not find me writing about). I was passing through the New … Read more
Massive Cement Walls Make Good Neighbors!
From Issandr El Amrani: First there was the West Bank wall, then the Gaza wall, then the Israeli-Egyptian wall in Sinai — and now the Egyptian government is building a wall outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo to protect it from protests. It may be a necessary thing — all countries have a responsibility … Read more
In Case Anyone Still Thinks Libya is the Beginning
I have repeatedly said that the intervention in Libya would not scare other despotic rulers into treating protests peacefully and would actually demonstrate the inability of the west to intervene elsewhere (see here and, most recently, the comment section here.) Not only did Libya demonstrate hoe intervention can be dragged out – “Days not weeks” … Read more
Legal Implications on the Palestinian Bid in September and More…
As has been discussed by me in two parts (here and here) the Palestinian move at the UN in September is more a showcase than a real thought out political move. Each side has its reasons discussed in the two articles so I will not reanalyze these, but just add a few points. The first … Read more
More Thoughts on the Palestinian Bid in September
As I was reviewing news this morning, I came across an article that I felt is important to my article yesterday. The point of my article yesterday essentially was that there is an attempt on each side, in the leadership, to achieve a specific goal and control the narrative. The Palestinian leadership wishes to maintain … Read more
Thoughts on the Palestinian Bid in September
There are many potential narratives already being conjured up for the Palestinian bid for recognition in September at the United Nations. The Palestinian leadership is going around the world asking for states to vote in favor of recognition with the rights that come with it. The Israelis are doing whatever they can to stop this … Read more






