Абдель Бари Атван: Жизнь и взгляды палестинского журналиста

Palestinian born British journalist (born 1950)

Abdel Bari Atwan (عبد الباري عطوان , Levantine pronunciation: ; born 17 February 1950) is a Palestinian born British journalist and the editor in chief of Rai al Youm, an Arab world digital news and opinion website. Previously he was the editor in chief of the London based pan Arab newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi from the founding of the paper in 1989 until July 2013.

Abdel Bari Atwan was born on 17 February 1950 in Deir al Balah, a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. The paper is known for its Arab nationalism and advocacy of the Palestinian cause. It has been banned and censored repeatedly in several Arab countries for vocal criticism of what the paper alleges is their autocratic rule and excessive deference to Israel and the United States. As editor of Al Quds Al Arabi, Atwan became a public figure; he is a guest on Dateline London on BBC World, Sky News, Al Jazeera English and CNN World, as well as on Arabic language networks. He has contributed articles to British newspapers including The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, and The Herald (Glasgow). He is a columnist for Gulf News. He has written four books. Islamic State: The Digital Caliphate was published by Saqi Books and the University of California Press in 2015. Atwan has also contributed chapters and essays to academic and specialist books and journals. He gives talks and lectures internationally, including at the Edinburgh Festival and Harvard University.

In 1996, Atwan interviewed Osama bin Laden. He had to travel through the mountains, dressed in Afghan clothing. He later called the experience his "most frightening trip". His impression of bin Laden was that he is "a phenomenon, extreme". Atwan stayed in the caves for two days, sleeping in primitive conditions in sub zero temperatures.

On the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks Atwan said: "The events of 11 September will be remembered as the end of the US empire. This is because all empires collapse when they pursue the arrogance of power."

Atwan has repeatedly expressed his view that the war on terror is the root cause for the creation of numerous regional Al Qaeda offshoots. At the second Dubai Debates on 31 May 2011, he stated: "We used to have one address for Al Qaeda. Tora Bora, Tora Bora main square, Tora Bora highroad, the third cave on the left. Now we have Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia and in the Islamic Maghreb."

He expressed sympathy with the insurgency against the US led 2003 invasion of Iraq. Commenting on former president Saddam Hussein's execution he said that he would "go to the gallows with his head held high, because he built a strong united Iraq without sectarianism". Later on, Atwan claimed that Saddam Hussein mentioned that "a nation which has Abdul Bari Atwan will not be defeated", before his execution.

Speaking about the potential for a retaliatory attack by Iran in the event it was attacked by Israel, in an interview on Lebanese television in June 2007, Atwan stated, "If the Iranian missiles strike Israel, by Allah, I will go to Trafalgar Square and dance with delight." He further stated in the case of war, Iran would retaliate against its Arab neighbors, American bases in the Gulf and "Allah willing, it will attack Israel, as well." In March 2008, Atwan said that the Mercaz HaRav shooting, in which a Palestinian gunman killed eight students (aged 15 to 26), "was justified". He added that the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva is responsible for "hatching Israeli extremists and fundamentalists" and that the celebrations in Gaza following the attack symbolized "the courage of the Palestinian nation". Atwan says, "We have to learn to live together in peace and co operation in a multi cultural society in one democratic secular state for two people. One state for both peoples governed by a representative democracy and on an equal footing. We manage it here in London, it is working in South Africa, and there is enough room for everyone in Palestine. I respect the Jewish people and their religion. I do not want to destroy Israel but I do want to end racism and the current Apartheid system." According to his personal website, Atwan has been banned by Israeli authorities from visiting the Palestinian territories since 2000. As a result, he was neither able to visit his ill mother nor attend her funeral after she died in 2003. In an interview which aired on the Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV channel on 31 January 2015 (as translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, MEMRI), Atwan stated that "Jihad must be directed, first and foremost, against the Israeli enemy All our guns must be turned toward that enemy, regardless of our differences, because this is the only thing that unites us." Atwan also declared that "Arabs who do not think that Israel is an enemy are neither Arabs nor Muslims." In another Al Mayadeen interview translated by MEMRI, broadcast in August 2021, Atwan contended that the American evacuation of Afghanistan presaged what will soon happen to Israel, suggesting that Israelis should start "learning how to swim" because their "only option" will be to flee from Israel into the Mediterranean Sea "like rats fleeing a sinking ship".

On 17 April 2011, speaking on BBC News Channel's Dateline London, Atwan claimed that post revolutionary Libya would become "a hotbed of extremists'. On 4 September 2011, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chair of the NTC, the interim free Libyan government, in an attempt to damage Atwan's reputation as a commentator, alleged that documentary proof had emerged that Atwan was on the payroll of Gaddafi. Atwan reiterated that there is no truth in this baseless allegation and is currently suing Mustafa Abdul Jalil for defamation in the UK courts.

On 7 May 2020, Atwan mentioned in regards to Iran's recent launched military satellite to space, that: it will change the region's equations. This Arab analyzer added: Noor (satellite) will observe each American ant, and each Israeli mosquito on the Earth; and with this achievement, Iran can monitor all American and Israeli troops on the ground.

In a scheduled visit to the Brisbane Writers Festival in September 2007, Atwan's visa was reported as being blocked by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Subsequently, this turned out to be over enthusiastic reporting. According to ASIO, Atwan's application had been delayed by the Australian Intelligence for less than four weeks, ASIO said "It is false to suggest it's anything to do with the media campaign or conspiracy theories, We had to seek some additional information. Dr Atwan's application was treated like everybody else's."

Following an October 2003 article in which Atwan claimed that the U. S. is to blame for the Arab world's hatred of it, a Yemenite journalist and columnist for the London Arabic language daily Al Sharq Al Awsat, Munir Al Mawari, stated: "The Abd Al Bari Atwan on CNN is completely different from the Abdel Bari Atwan on the Al Jazeera network or in his Al Quds Al Arabi daily. On CNN, Atwan speaks solemnly and with total composure, presenting rational and balanced views. This is in complete contrast with his fuming appearances on Al Jazeera and in Al Quds Al Arabi, in which he whips up the emotions of multitudes of viewers and readers." In response to Atwan's legitimization of the Mercaz HaRav shooting in March 2008, Lior Ben Dor, a spokesman at the Israeli embassy in London, said: "The problem is that when addressing the British public, he tends to hide his true opinions and ideology – his support for terror and the murder of civilians. This article reveals Atwan's real colors, a supporter of fundamentalism and terror, and hence he should be treated accordingly." He stated that over a period of a quarter of a century, he had received death threats from the "Arab, Foreign, and Israeli security services". He insisted that he had never compromised on his ideals and took pride in his profession, "leaving with his head held high".