The Pessoptimist

Jew in Arabia, goy in Israel

Monday, December 31, 2018

Ten years for activist in UAE

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An United Arab Emirates (UAE) appeals court has upheld a 10-year prison sentence against prominent pro-democracy activist Ahmed Mansoor fo...
Saturday, December 29, 2018

Egyptian forces kill 40 'militants' after bombing of tourist bus

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 The damaged bus with Vietnamese tourists. (Photo VNExpress/Vietnam) Egyptian security forces have killed 40 suspected militants in thre...
Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Protest in Tunisia after self immolation of journalist

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Protests erupted in Tunisia after the death of a journalist who set himself on fire to protest against economic hardship in the North A...

Israeli aiplanes attack Syria, first time after Trump announced withdrawal

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Missiles above Daamscuis (Photo AP/Al Jazeera) Syrian state media says government air defences have intercepted missiles fired by Is...
Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Egypt: 32 executions and nearly 600 death sentences in 2018

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Over 30 people were executed and nearly 600 death sentences were issued in Egypt in the first 11 months of 2018, according to a report is...
Sunday, December 23, 2018

Protetsts in Sudan continue

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 Protests in Atbara (Photo Reuters) Protests in parts of Sudan continued for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, as doctors prepare...
Friday, December 14, 2018

US Senate votes to stop American support for war in Yemen and declares MbS guilty of Khashoggi murder

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The US Senate voted on Thursday to approve a resolution calling for an end to United States involvement in the Saudi-UAE-led military camp...
Monday, December 3, 2018

''Almost all of UNRWA's buildings in camps Yarmouk and Dera'a in Syria have to be rebuilt

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Yarmouk camp After conducting a damage assessment of its installations in the unofficial camp of Yarmouk, near Damascus, as well as th...
Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Egypt creates new human rights watchdog - to protect itself

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By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press.   Egypt has created a new high-powered human rights watchdog agency, but its primary mission isn’t t...
Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Trump chooses to ignore CIA conclusion about Saudi crown prince's involvement in Khashoggi murder

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the "United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure t...
Friday, November 16, 2018

Tariq Ramadan after 10 months free on bail

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Tariq Ramadan, a prominent Islamic scholar, has been released on bail after being held in detention for nearly 10 months over charges of ...
Friday, November 9, 2018

Turks found traces of acid at home Saudi consul

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Saudi authorities used acid and other chemicals to dispose of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi's body, a source at the Turkish attorn...
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Abu Pessoptimist
This blogname was derived from a satiric Arabic novel by the Palestinian Israeli Emile Habiby. In the ''The Secret Life of Saeed The Pessoptimist'' he uses absurdism as a weapon against the (ir)realities of daily life in Palestine/Israel. I consider it to be an example for how events in Israel/Palestine best can be approached. The subtitle is from a book by Dutch author Renate Rubinstein. In a way that is also still my motto. My real name is Martin (Maarten Jan) Hijmans. I've been covering the ME since 1977 and have been a correspondent in Cairo. In 2018, I concluded the study 'Arabic language and culture' at the University of Amsterdam. I started 'Abu Pessoptimist' in January 2009 out of anger about the onslaught of that month in Gaza. The other blog, The Pessoptimist, is meant to be a sister version in English. (En voor de Nederlandstaligen: ik wilde in november 2009 een tweede blog in het Engels beginnen en ontdekte te laat dat als je één account hebt, een profiel dan meteen ook voor allebei de blogs geldt. Vandaar dat het nu ineens in het Engels is... So sorry.)
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