Perspectives
4 Questions for an Expert: Israel’s De Facto Annexation of the West Bank
Expert: Amjad Iraqi, International Crisis Group Senior Analyst for Israel/Palestine. Question: In recent weeks, the Israeli government has taken several steps to further entrench Israel’s nearly six-decade-old military occupation and settlement enterprise in the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem. Many observers - and senior Israeli officials themselves - say these measures amount to…
5 Questions for an Expert: Israel’s Network of Torture Camps
Expert: Yuli Novak, Executive Director of B'Tselem: Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. Question: Last month, you released a report, “Living Hell: The Israeli Prison System as a Network of Torture Camps,” which detailed abuse and torture of Palestinians in Israeli captivity, including the use of sexual violence. It was a follow up to a report you released…
4 Questions for an Expert: Trump’s Plan for Gaza & So-Called “Board of Peace”
Expert: Diana Buttu, Human rights attorney, former advisor to Palestinian Authority president and Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian negotiators. Question: President Donald Trump’s Orwellian-named “Board of Peace” (BoP) will be headed by Trump and include world leaders chosen by him. While there are no Palestinians on the board, Benjamin Netanyahu will…
4 Questions for an Expert: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation & Israel’s Weaponization of Food (July 2025)
Expert: Hani Almadhoun, Senior Director of Philanthropy for UNRWA USA, which supports the humanitarian work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. He also co-founded and runs the Gaza Soup Kitchen, which is operated by members of his family in Gaza. Question: In May, after imposing a total blockade on Gaza for months, deliberately starving the…
5 Questions for an Expert: The Ceasefire Deal & Trump-Netanyahu Plan for Gaza
Expert: Jehad Abusalim, Executive Director of the Institute for Palestine Studies-USA in Washington, DC. Mr. Abusalim was raised in Deir el-Balah in the Gaza Strip and co-edited the anthology Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire (2022). Question: Since President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu announced a ceasefire deal and 20-point plan for Gaza on September 29, Israel has continued to carry…
3 Questions for an Expert: The ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu & Gallant
Featured expert: Diana Buttu, Human rights attorney and political analyst, former advisor to Palestinian Authority President and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian negotiators, and Palestinian citizen of Israel. Question: On Thursday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense…
I Survived Israel’s Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine in 1948. I Fear My Family Might Not Survive Its Genocide in Gaza
Seventy-six years ago this week, I was forced to flee my home village in Palestine during the establishment of the state of Israel, taking refuge in Gaza, never to return. Now, at 96-years-old, I and hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians who have been driven from their homes by Israel in recent months face the possibility of being expelled from Gaza altogether as a full-scale invasion of the…
Israel Killed More than 100 Members of My Family. President Biden Must Demand a Ceasefire To End Israel’s Genocide in Gaza
On January 26, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling in favor of the government of South Africa, which had filed a petition accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. I was gratified as I read the decision, calling on Israel to take all measures to avoid killing civilians in Gaza and to prevent and punish incitement to commit genocide by Israeli…
Expert Q&A: South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel at the International Court of Justice
Expert: Diana Buttu, Human rights attorney and political analyst, former advisor to Palestinian Authority President and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian negotiators, and Palestinian citizen of Israel. Q&A Question: What is the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and how does it differ from the International Criminal Court (ICC)? Diana Buttu: The…
Israel’s War on Gaza Undermines the Human Rights Agenda in the Arab Region
As a human rights defender and someone who has worked in this field for many years, I, like many others, especially in the Arab region, feel a great frustration due to the incapacity and failure of the human rights system, the international humanitarian law framework, and also the international relief system to offer anything to the residents of the Gaza Strip. However, my greatest fear is that…