Middle East Quotes

Browse through our collection of quotes tagged with Middle East.

Israelis are a mix of North African, Levantine, and Eastern

Israelis are a mix of North African, Levantine, and Eastern European, which inflames the politics but does amazing things for the women.

Politics Beauty Women Middle East Israelis

Control over the production and distribution of oil is the d

Control over the production and distribution of oil is the decisive factor in defining who rules whom in the Middle East.

Christopher Hitchens

Politics Middle East Economy Of The Middle East Oil Oil Reserves Petroleum Petroleum Politics

I was taken to a villa to meet Sabri al-Banna, known as 'Abu

I was taken to a villa to meet Sabri al-Banna, known as 'Abu Nidal' ('father of struggle'), who was at the time emerging as one of Yasser Arafat's main enemies. The meeting began inauspiciously when Abu Nidal asked me if I would like to be trained in one of his camps. No thanks, I explained. From this awkward beginning there was a further decline. I was then asked if I knew Said Hammami, the envoy of the PLO in London. I did in fact know him. He was a brave and decent man, who in a series of articles in the London had floated the first-ever trial balloon for a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine. 'Well tell him he is a traitor,' barked my host. 'And tell him we have only one way with those who betray us.' The rest of the interview passed as so many Middle Eastern interviews do: too many small cups of coffee served with too much fuss; too many unemployed heavies standing about with nothing to do and nobody to do it with; too much ugly furniture, too many too-bright electric lights; and much too much . The only political fact I could winnow, from Abu Nidal's vainglorious claims to control X number of 'fighters' in Y number of countries, was that he admired the People's Republic of China for not recognizing the State of Israel. I forget how I got out of his office.

Christopher Hitchens

Politics Interviews Middle East Israel Palestine Iraq Abu Nidal Arafat China London Military Training Plo Said Hammami The Times