Apartheid or One State: Has Jordan Broken a Political Taboo?

“You close the door to the two-state solution, I could very well look at this positively, if we’re clearly opening the door to a one-state democratic solution.” — PM of Jordan, Omar Razzaz

Ramzy Baroud
By Ramzy Baroud
Two-state solution Feature photo

What will it take for the idea of a two-state solution, which was hardly practical to begin with, to be completely abandoned? Every realistic assessment of the situation on the ground indicates, with palpable clarity, that there can never be a viable Palestinian state in parts of the West Bank and Gaza. Politically, the idea is also

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Imagining Return: Palestinians in Jordan’s Sprawling Refugee Camps Still Yearn for Home

Miko Peled recounts his visits to Jerash’s Gaza Camp, a refugee camp housing tens of thousands of Palestinians just hours away from their ancestral homeland.

Miko Peled
By Miko Peled
Palestinian refugee camp Feature photo

Amman, Jordan -- Abna’a Gaza (the Children of Gaza) is a status given to Palestinian refugees who fled from the Gaza Strip to Jordan in 1967. They fled during the 1967 war and consequent Israeli occupation of Gaza. Today, over five decades later, these Palestinians who originally fled to Gaza from their homes in greater Palestine in 1948 number

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The Real Reasons Behind Israel’s Arrest of Two Jordanian Nationals

Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Mi’ri were released because of their own resolve, coupled with strong solidarity exhibited by ordinary Jordanians, writes Ramzy Baroud.

Ramzy Baroud
By Ramzy Baroud
Jordanian prisoners Israel feature photo

The release on November 6 of two Jordanian nationals, Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Mi’ri from Israeli prisons was a bittersweet moment. The pair were finally reunited with their families after harrowing experiences in Israel. Sadly, thousands of Palestinian prisoners are still denied their freedom, still subjected to all sorts of hardships at

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Saudi Arabia’s Religious Diplomacy Targets Jerusalem

A UAE-backed Saudi effort to wrest control from Jordan of Islam’s holy places in Jerusalem signals a sharper, more overt edge to Saudi religious diplomacy and the kingdom’s quest for regional hegemony.

Dr. James M. Dorsey
By Dr. James M. Dorsey
A money exchanger sits next to mock a Saudi rial featuring a depiction of Jerusalem rial bill advertising his business at a bazaar in the southwest Pakistan. Enric Marti | AP

A United Arab Emirates-backed Saudi effort to wrest control from Jordan of Islam’s holy places in Jerusalem signals a sharper, more overt edge to Saudi religious diplomacy and the kingdom’s quest for regional hegemony that risks deepening divides in the Muslim world. The effort also serves to support Donald J. Trump’s plan for a resolution of the

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Green Fatwas: Imams Champion The Environment In Water-Scarce Jordan

Jordan is facing severe water shortages and as refugee numbers rise, so is demand. The state is enlisting imams to help.

Olivia Cuthbert
By Olivia Cuthbert
A father and son wash before prayer at a mosque in Jordan. Water usage at mosques is an issue imams are tackling. (Credit: GIZ)

Even before the arrival of an estimated 1.3 million refugees, Jordan was one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. In 2014, annual water availability plummeted from 147 cubic metres to 123 cm per person, far below the international water poverty line of 500cm per capital per year. Meanwhile, demand is rising. In the northern

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Gulf Nations Celebrated In Western Press While Silencing Their Own Journalists

Western media outlets routinely portray despotic Gulf regimes as benign and friendly states. However, these same outlets ignore the harsh realities that their fellow journalists deal with on a regular basis within those countries, including harassment, imprisonment and torture.

Roqayah Chamseddine
By Roqayah Chamseddine
A journalist takes photos at a palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP/Hasan Jamali)

MINNEAPOLIS-- While serving as an unabashed arms dealer to the world's most repressive governments, the United States is also acting as their public relations agent, characterizing countries that routinely undermine freedom of the press, as well as the rights of women and minorities, as being safe and friendly. The clearest examples can be

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