Author: Reuven Paz / Political Geography: Arab Countries

Author:: Reuven Paz
Publication Date:: 05-2001
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: On April 21, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Shaykh Abd al-Aziz bin Abdallah Aal al-Shaykh, said that Islam forbids suicide terrorist attacks. This has raised a storm of criticism from supporters of the Palestinian intifada against Israel. However, the mufti may have been thinking more about Osama bin Ladin than recent Palestinian actions.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Islam, and Terrorism
Political Geography:: United States, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Arab Countries, and Saudi Arabia

Author:: Reuven Paz
Publication Date:: 04-2001
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: The last two days have witnessed "The International Conference on the Palestinian Intifada" in Tehran. The conference was a major step in Iran's drive to accelerate terrorist attacks on Israel. Delegates to the conference came from thirty-four countries, including Syrian vice president Muhammad Zahir Mosahareqa, Lebanese National Assembly Speaker Nabih Berri, and representatives from many parliaments (e.g., Irish Senator Mick Lanigan). Palestinian participants included Palestinian Authority (PA) minister in charge of Jerusalem affairs Faisal Husseini and Palestinian National Council head Salim Za'noun (Abu Adib), one of the founding generation of Fatah and for many years the main link between Yasir Arafat and Islamic fundamentalist circles.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution
Political Geography:: United States, Iran, Middle East, Israel, Tehran, Palestine, Arab Countries, and Syria

Author:: Reuven Paz
Publication Date:: 10-2001
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Shaykh Yousef al-Qaradawi, head of the Sunni studies department at Qatar University and a well-known Islamic scholar, was the first in the Arab Sunni world to Islamically legitimate the suicide operations of Hamas (1995). But he was also among the first Islamic scholars to condemn the September 11 attack on the United States. In mid-October, he joined four other scholars in sanctioning the participation of American Muslim military personnel in the attack on Afghanistan, as long as they were not involved in fighting and only in administrative and logistics activities. This report was viewed by American Muslims as a ruling, but the statement has not appeared on his official website (www.qaradawi.net) alongside his other rulings, articles, and interviews. Do his post-September 11 statements indicate a change in view?
Topic:: Security, NATO, Arms Control and Proliferation, Islam, Religion, and Terrorism
Political Geography:: United States, America, Middle East, and Arab Countries

Author:: Reuven Paz
Publication Date:: 09-2001
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: In his September 21st speech to Congress, President George W. Bush mentioned two terrorist groups in addition to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaedah: the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Both groups are fighting the regimes of their homelands but serve the interests of global Jihad as well.
Topic:: Security, NATO, Arms Control and Proliferation, Islam, Religion, and Terrorism
Political Geography:: Middle East, Uzbekistan, Arab Countries, and Egypt

Author:: Reuven Paz
Publication Date:: 10-2000
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: The riots and violent demonstrations of Israeli Arab citizens in the last few days have been the most violent in 18 years and can be compared only to the violent protests that occurred in response to the massacres in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilah by Christian Phalanges in September 1982. Israeli Arabs did not give vent to such violence and rage even during the Palestinian Uprising (Intifadah) in the Territories. Although most of the Israeli Arab citizens have not taken part in the current violence, it seems from their reactions that most of them—especially the Muslim population—identify with the expressions of rage (Christian, Northern Bedouin, and Druze villages took no part in the latest incidents).
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Arab Countries

Author:: Reuven Paz
Publication Date:: 05-2000
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Israel's quick withdrawal from Lebanon and the collapse of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) is certain to be studied by Hamas, the main Palestinian Islamist organization. To understand what lessons Hamas may draw, it is useful to look at two recent developments: discussion inside Hamas about "Lebanonizing" the Palestinian territories and the early May arrest of Hamas military commander Muhammad Deif by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, and Arab Countries

Author:: Reuven Paz
Publication Date:: 05-2000
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: The May 15 clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian civilians and policemen on the occasion of the Nakbah ("catastrophe"), a Palestinian memorial day protesting the establishment of Israel, were the most violent since the September 1996 opening of the tunnel entrance in Jerusalem's Old City. Five Palestinians were killed and over 300 were wounded in. this week's clashes, along with over ten Israeli soldiers wounded in the fighting.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Middle East and Arab Countries

Author:: Reuven Paz
Publication Date:: 04-2000
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement) has recently published a denial of the Jewish Holocaust on its official website. Although Hamas often uses anti-Jewish phrases, this was the first time the organization has officially denied the Holocaust.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Middle East, Palestine, Arabia, and Arab Countries

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