palestinian UN statehood

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (Beautiful Faces of Palestine/CC BY NC ND 2.0)

Who got rid of the prime minister of Palestine?

The resignation of the Palestinian Authority’s relatively popular but unsupported Prime Minister Salam Fayyad ends a story of frustration, progress and hope. Who killed the prime minister of Palestine? Well, no one killed Salam Fayyad, of course. But the idea of a prime minister of Palestine, the political leader of a someday-democratic state-coming-into being who…

By Dahlia Scheindlin April 14, 2013

Palestinian Authority police make an arrest in Hebron [illustrative photo], December 14, 2012. (JC/Activestills.org)

Prisoner’s death in Palestinian jail highlights violations, loss of legitimacy

Protest against prisoner conditions in Israeli jails will not prevent anger and delegitimization of PA law enforcement system for its own violations. A Palestinian prisoner being held on charges connected to a stabbing died in a Palestinian Authority jail in Jericho on Friday, according to a Jerusalem Post and Ma’an News Agency. The articles report…

By Dahlia Scheindlin March 3, 2013

Palestinians dance in front of the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank town of Bethlehem in anticipation of the Palestinian bid for "nonmember observer state" status at the United Nations, November 29, 2012. Hours later, the UN General Assembly voted 138-9 in favor of the upgraded status for Palestine, with 41 nations abstaining. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: Palestinians celebrate UN victory

Palestinians throughout the West Bank gathered, first in anticipation, then in celebration of their bid for upgraded status at the United Nations. In a 138-9 vote, with 41 abstentions, the UN General Assembly voted to change Palestine’s status from “nonmember observer entity” to “nonmember observer state.” The landslide victory, including many European nations that changed…

By Activestills November 30, 2012

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Jabari poster (IDF)

Gaza escalation: There was another way

As if the heartache over the escalation and its appalling predictability isn’t enough, as if the pain of watching whole communities cower under rockets while planning the next decade of psychotherapy for children isn’t enough, as if fresh Israeli and Palestinian deaths isn’t enough, the IDF sent the following message on its Twitter feed: Here’s…

By Dahlia Scheindlin November 15, 2012

Palestinian flag in food thumb, 3 December, 2011 (Photo: Dahlia Scheindlin)

Photo essay: The symmetry of an asymmetrical conflict

2011 is drawing to a close and it has been a year full of expectation and suspense regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I admit that I thought it was a year in which significant things might change. But after a weekend trip to some of the hottest spots in the hot spot, I reflected that a…

By Dahlia Scheindlin December 9, 2011

Boycotting oneself: Washington, Jerusalem on dead end road

America’s war on the world continues: After threatening to cut funds from the United Nations if the organization promotes the Palestinian delegation’s status, the State Department decided to freeze its support for the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of the United Nation (UNESCO) because the latter defied Washington’s order and accepted Palestine as a member…

By Noam Sheizaf November 3, 2011

Palestinians join UNESCO – symbolic step to statehood?

The emotional victory may not be a game-changer, but to consider it merely symbolic is missing deep potential consequences of full acceptance into a UN club. This post has been updated, 31 October, 8:40pm The Palestinian Authority won a major victory on Monday by being accepted to UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural…

By Dahlia Scheindlin October 31, 2011

Dimi Reider Gershom Gorenberg bloggingheads diavlog

Bloggingheads: Reider vs Gorenberg: One state or two?

The Palestinian Authority’s statehood bid is portrayed as a crucial step on the way to the two state solution, yet an independent Palestinian state appears to as distant as ever. Watch below as Gershom Gorenberg and I engage in a Bloggingheads diavlog to discuss whether it’s time to begin considering other options. One sneaky note…

By Dimi Reider October 5, 2011

Obama and Netanyahu in the Oval Office (photo: Wikimedia commons)

Wild Card – last chapter: Bibi and Obama pave the way for one-state solution

SAVE THE DATE: September 23, 2011. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will give his “truth” speech at the UN General Assembly. The “truth” will actually be the annihilation of a two-state solution, and thus with it, the end of Zionism In October 2010 I started writing the “Wild card” campaign. To make a long story short,…

By Ami Kaufman September 18, 2011

Russian_gas_mask_ thumb (Photo: Ethbaal/Wikimedia Commons)

Gas masks: Israeli gov’t’s answer to Palestinian statehood

How a renewed, refreshed, revived and rehabilitated gas mask will protect 3,000,000 (+1?) Israelis from Palestinian statehood.

By Dahlia Scheindlin September 18, 2011

Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: Flickr-cc-Olivier Pacteau)

Palestinian president outlines political identity of new Palestinian state

By presenting strategically calculated messages for all relevant audiences, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas used yesterday’s speech to outline the identity of the new Palestinian state he is to seek at the UN. This post has been updated, 19 September, 2011 When Palestinian President and Chairman of PLO Mahmoud Abbas ended his speech on Friday to an…

By Dahlia Scheindlin September 17, 2011

J Street’s opposition to Palestinian UN bid is a smart move

My colleague Noam heavily castigated J Street’s announcement that it would oppose the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN in a few weeks. He qualified this by saying that he isn’t entirely convinced of the statehood plan itself; but saw political and moral failings in J Street’s position nonetheless. I, on the other hand,…

By Dahlia Scheindlin September 9, 2011