Patrick O. Strickland

Patrick O. Strickland is the Jerusalem correspondent for MintPress News and reports on Israel and the Palestinian territories. Strickland has been reporting from the Middle East since July 2011, and his articles have appeared in Al Jazeera English, AlterNet, TruthOut, Huffington Post, In These Times and others. He has also written essays in theoretical journals, such as International Socialist Review and New Politics. Follow him on Twitter: @P_Strickland_

WATCH: Palestinian Christians Decry Israel’s Restrictions Ahead Of Easter

Many Palestinian Christians who applied for permits to visit family and holy sites in Jerusalem for Easter have been rejected — an increasingly common occurrence in recent years.

Patrick O. Strickland
By Patrick O. Strickland
Israel Palestinians Easter

EAST JERUSALEM, occupied West Bank ---Although Najeeb al-Ezam has been one of the lucky ones who has received a permit to visit Jerusalem for Easter festivities in the past, some years he does not even bother applying. Al-Ezam, 28, is a pharmacist from the West Bank city of Ramallah, just six miles north of Jerusalem. Despite the proximity of

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WATCH: Israeli Forces Shoot Palestinian Photographer In West Bank

During a mass prayer service of Palestinians protesting Israel’s refusal to release a group of Palestinian political prisoners, Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian photojournalist.

Patrick O. Strickland
By Patrick O. Strickland
A Palestinian farmer looks at Israeli army soldiers after he planted an olive trees near the West Bank town of Tubas in the Jordan valley, during a protest against the closure of land to Palestinians by the army and Jewish settlers, Tuesday, April 8, 2014. (AP/Mohammed Ballas)

RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank --- Israeli military forces shot and injured a Palestinian photojournalist during a demonstration in the occupied West Bank last week. Mohammad Basman Yasin, 21, is a volunteer photojournalist for the Israeli organization B’Tselem, a group that monitors human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory. An

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Palestinian Authority Cracks Down Amid Criticism Of Renewed Negotiations

A series of violent incidents in the West Bank reflect a growing skepticism of the PA’s legitimacy among Palestinians.

Patrick O. Strickland
By Patrick O. Strickland

RAMALLAH — The Obama administration appears to have put the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the back burner once again. Negotiations were renewed in July after months of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s shuttle diplomacy. Yet their status is uneasy after the killing of two Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank. In Hebron, a sniper

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Despite Peace Talks, Kurdish Rifts Persist In Turkey

Tense divisions continue between the Turkish government and the country’s Kurdish minority.

Patrick O. Strickland
By Patrick O. Strickland

On Sept. 18, a Turkish parliamentary commission debated an article regarding citizenship and education rights. Skirmishes followed a meeting of lawmakers who had “a hard time reconciling long-standing differences in formulating the right to education in mother tongue and citizenship,” Turkish daily Hurriyet reported. While arguing that Kurdish

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Retreat From Push To Strike Syria Followed Charges Of US Opportunism

Facing mass opposition at home and abroad, the Obama administration appears to have backed off its call to target the Syrian regime.

Patrick O. Strickland
By Patrick O. Strickland

The Obama administration’s march to war in Syria was cut short by a Russian-brokered deal to strip Syria of its chemical weapons stockpile. On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the plan. “The threat of force [against Syria] remains, the threat is real,” Kerry said, speaking at

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Ahead Of Rumored Presidential Run, Rick Perry Heads To Israel

Perry is a part of a crowded club of Republicans who accuse President Obama of “betraying Israel.”

Patrick O. Strickland
By Patrick O. Strickland
Rick

Many people in Texas were surprised this summer when Gov. Rick Perry (R) announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection. However, recent interviews suggest that Perry may have his eye on the U.S. presidency. An upcoming trip to Israel in October is a “move [that] signals that he is seriously considering making another presidential run in 2016,”

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Is Lebanon On The Brink?

Syria-fueled internal divisions coupled with an increasingly tense border with Israel threaten Lebanon’s fragile peace.

Patrick O. Strickland
By Patrick O. Strickland

Following a sharp uptick in violence in Beirut and Tripoli in recent weeks, Lebanon threatens to descend into complete instability. Coupled with the country’s already fragile sectarian divides, the ongoing crisis in Syria is stoking tensions in Lebanon and recalling a violent past. Droves of Lebanese Sunnis have joined the Free Syrian Army and

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