By Natalia Simanovsky TEL AVIV: Pictures of unarmed demonstrators clashing with police and security forces have become the defining images of the Arab Spring. The wave of mass protests and demonstrations has led to the collapse of despotic regimes including those led by Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia’s Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. In …

By Natalia Simanovsky TEL AVIV: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is wearing thin the patience of the international community. As we creep closer to the date when the majority of UN member states officially lend their support to the Palestinian bid for statehood, Israel will find itself in a far tougher, more isolated position than it has since …

By Natalia Simanovsky TEL AVIV: With all eyes on the upcoming United Nations General Assembly meeting in September when 191 UN member states will vote on whether or not to recognize a Palestinian state, it is surprising that there is barely any mention of what may be one of the most significant developments within Palestinian society …

By Natalia Simanovsky TEL AVIV: Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has recently been on the receiving end of a barrage of criticism from those who claim that the measures he implemented, and were authorised by President Mahmoud Abbas as part of their state-building plan, are undemocratic. The plan, entitled “Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State”, …