Articles by: Omar Karmi

Donald Trump signs an executive order declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel at the White House on 6 December. Chris KleponisCNP

Oh Jerusalem: Requiem For The Two-State Solution

He may have small hands, but US President Donald Trump appears to have a big foot. And with his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, he has shoved it squarely up the part of conventional international Middle East peacemaking diplomacy that never sees the sun. So far, so good, you might think. Decades of international peacemaking efforts have, after all, failed,[Read More…]

by 08/12/2017 1 comment World
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with Saudi's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 7, 2017. Photo by Thaer Ganaim

How Saudi Power Play Could Hurt Palestinians

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammad bin Salman’s brash attempt to consolidate power at home and assert primacy abroad will have ramifications far and wide. Some of these will be felt in Palestine, where a shaky reconciliation agreement holds out the best hope in a long time for some relief for two million Palestinians in Gaza after 10 years of isolation imposed by Israel and Egypt. One danger is[Read More…]

by 10/11/2017 1 comment Palestine
Hamas's new deputy leader Salah al-Aruri (seated L) and Fatah's Azzam al-Ahmad (seated R) sign a reconciliation deal in Cairo on October 12, 2017, as the two rival Palestinian movements ended their decade-long split following negotiations overseen by Egypt. Under the agreement, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority is to resume full control of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by December 1, according to a statement from Egypt's government. . Photo by STR

Much Optimism, Little Confidence In Hamas-Fatah Deal

It was with almost unseemly haste that Fatah and Hamas, the two main Palestinian factions, announced that they had reached a preliminary unity agreement in Cairo on 12 October, after two days of negotiations. The deal has been greeted with some fanfare. Mahmoud Abbas, head of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, called it “a declaration of the end to division and a return to national Palestinian[Read More…]

by 14/10/2017 1 comment Palestine