source corpus
Documents
The text the scoring pipeline reads. Each document is tied to a party (or politician) with a published date, a source URL, and either Arabic, Hebrew, or English content. Open any one to read the verbatim source and see how it was scored.
IL 88 
LB 47 
EG 44 
PS 40 
IQ 28 
MA 20 
SY 20 
YE 19 
TN 17 
JO 15 
SA 15 
SD 15 
DZ 12 
LY 11 
AE 9 
BH 9 
QA 7 
MR 6 
OM 2 
KW 2 -
Interview Arabic LB 2026-05-31 Tier 2 Nabih Berri (Speaker of Parliament; leader of the Amal Movement) — statement to NBN guaranteeing "the resistance's" full, comprehensive and immediate commitment to a ceasefire if a clear formula is reached, while asking who will compel Israel to halt its aggression (reported by Lebanon Debate, 31 May 2026).
أكد رئيس مجلس النواب نبيه بري أنه يضمن "التزاماً كاملاً وشاملاً وفورياً" بوقف إطلاق النار من قبل المقاومة، في حال التوصل إلى صيغة واضحة لوقف العمليات. وقال بري، في حديث للـ"NBN": "أضمن التزاماً كاملاً وشاملاً وفورياً لوقف إطلاق النار من قبل المقاومة، لكن السؤال: من يُلزم إسرائيل بوقف عدوانها براً وبحراً وجواً وهدمها…
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Interview English AE 2026-05-20 Tier 2 Anwar Gargash (diplomatic adviser to the UAE president; architect of the Abraham Accords) — Atlantic Council conversation at the Europe Gulf Forum, 16 May 2026: after Iran's strikes on the Gulf he says the Gulf's "outreach to Iran" has "failed" and "trust... is broken," and pointedly decouples Gulf security from Israel — "we did not see 7,000 Israeli projectiles... We saw 7,000 Iranian projectiles here" — framing Iran (not Israel) as the threat and seeing "opportunities also for Israel."
All that, in my opinion, has failed. We have a new reality today, and as we move forward, I think I distinguish very clearly between the concept of trust and the concept of relations. Relations with Iran, I’m sure at some stage, some of it will return at various degrees, et cetera, but trust I think is broken and it…
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Interview English IQ 2026-02-05 Tier 2 Masrour Barzani (Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq) — interview with The National, 5 Feb 2026: the KRG mediated between Damascus, the SDF and the US/France over Syria's Kurds, urging the new Syrian government to "lead and not be led" and enshrine Kurdish rights in the constitution; presses intra-Kurdish unity ("Elections should matter") and resolving Erbil–Baghdad oil/budget disputes constitutionally.
— We were in direct contact with both Damascus and also Qamishli and also with the United States, with France, with many countries that were playing a part in mediating and trying to calm the situation — lead and not be led — Elections should matter
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Interview English LB 2026-02-04 Tier 2 Nawaf Salam (Prime Minister of Lebanon from Feb 2025; former ICJ president) — Euronews interview, 4 Feb 2026: the state's monopoly on arms and restoring state authority — "the army is our main tool to enforce our goal to have the monopoly over arms and to restore state authority over all the Lebanese territory" — plus condemning Israel's occupation of the south. The reformist / state-sovereignty pole.
We will need their help, because the army is our main tool to enforce our goal to have the monopoly over arms and to restore state authority over all the Lebanese territory. Unfortunately, we must address the issue of Israel's occupation of parts of the south, the daily violations of its sovereignty, and the…
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Interview English LB 2026-02-02 Tier 2 Samir Geagea (leader, Lebanese Forces) — declared positions on decentralization and democracy, from a 2026 "Pen Cast" podcast interview (reported by SyriacPress): Lebanon's core problem is a plural society governed by an overly centralized state, so he advocates "decentralization in its broadest sense"; he defines democracy as "the right of every group to choose its own representatives."
Geagea argued that the root of the problem lies in the structure of a pluralistic society governed by an excessively centralized state. The solution, he said, is decentralization in its broadest sense, not merely administrative decentralization. Geagea maintained that such an approach would provide “breathing space”…
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Interview English QA 2025-10-29 Tier 2 Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (Qatar's PM & Foreign Minister) — Council on Foreign Relations conversation, 29 Oct 2025: Qatar's mediation doctrine — "number one is trust… that we have built through friendships around the world" and proposing "solutions that's adoptable by both parties." The Qatari mediation / dialogue-diplomacy pole. [Second doc — distinct mediation-doctrine axis.]
I think number one is trust, and the trust that we have built through friendships around the world has, of course, boosted Qatar in that role. We are trying to be very clear with them, and proposing for them solutions that's adoptable by both parties. And that's how we work.
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Interview English LB 2025-10-08 Samir Geagea (Lebanese Forces) to AFP: Hezbollah must disarm and hand its weapons to the Lebanese state (8 October 2025)
In an interview with Agence France-Presse on Tuesday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the Iran-backed Hezbollah […] must learn from Hamas's experience in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state as soon as possible. Geagea stated that Hezbollah has run out of options, noting that the party…
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Interview English SY 2025-09-25 Tier 2 Asaad al-Shaibani (Foreign Minister of the post-Assad Syria) — in conversation with Fareed Zakaria at the Council on Foreign Relations, 25 Sep 2025: "Syria is now free, without Assad regime," opening "a new page... of peace and of cooperation with the region, with the world"; the state alone should bear arms ("only the army"); and the new government "would not impose Sharia on anyone."
Syria is now free, without Assad regime. The Syrian people now is rebuilding his country without any—without any authoritarian regime. Of course, now we are also open a new page with all the world—a page of peace and of cooperation with the region, with the world. We do not want the arms to be available to the…
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Interview English YE 2025-09-24 Tier 2 Aidarus al-Zoubaidi (President, Southern Transitional Council; deputy chair, Yemen Presidential Leadership Council) — interview with The National at the UN, 24 Sep 2025: backs South Yemen's right to self-determination and independence (restoring the pre-1990 southern state), and — distinctively — openness to joining the Abraham Accords / ties with Israel once independent.
Before the events in Gaza, we were advancing towards joining the Abraham Accords,” he said. “If Gaza and Palestine regain their rights, the Accords will be essential for stability in the region. When we have our southern state, we will make our own decisions and I believe we will be part of these accords. The main…
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Interview English LB 2025-04-03 Walid Jumblatt — interview with The National, 3 April 2025 (with a Middle East Eye supplement, 20 May 2025)
(On Hezbollah's weapons and armed resistance, Jumblatt told The National:) "Hezbollah should understand that now, going back to the old methods … armed resistance – it won't work." (Yet he insisted the party cannot be excluded from Lebanon's confessional order:) "Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese society. They are…
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Interview English LB 2025-04-03 Tier 2 Walid Joumblatt (Druze leader; Progressive Socialist Party) — The National interview, 3 Apr 2025: urging reconciliation with the new Syria — "Give Ahmad Al Shara a chance… you are giving a chance to the Syrian people" (despite Syria's assassination of his father) — while firmly anti-normalization yet anti-war on Israel: "I'm not favouring and will never favour peace between us and Israel."
Give them a chance. Give Ahmad Al Shara a chance. Because when you give Ahmad Al Shara a chance, you are giving a chance to the Syrian people. I think he's an intelligent person, and he's clever. I'm just saying give Ahmad Al Shara a chance. I'm not favouring and will never favour peace between us and Israel.
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Interview English SY 2025-01-19 Tier 2 Murhaf Abu Qasra (Defense Minister of post-Assad Syria) — interview with Reuters, 19 Jan 2025 (via ARK News): all armed factions, including the US-backed SDF, must integrate fully into the Ministry of Defense — "remaining a distinct military bloc... is incompatible with the framework of a large institution" — the new state's drive for a single national army.
As far as the Syrian Democratic Forces becoming part of the Ministry of Defense, this position is untenable. We propose their inclusion under the Ministry of Defense’s structure, with their distribution carried out in a military framework. There's no objection to this. However, remaining a distinct military bloc…
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Interview English SY 2024-12-08 Tier 2 Hadi al-Bahra (President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition; Constitutional Committee co-chair) — Middle East Eye interview, 8 Dec 2024 (days after Assad's fall): his vision of a Syria of "equal rights and duties" for all citizens, and a transition that preserves state institutions rather than destroying them.
united land and people, where all citizens have equal rights and duties We don't want to destroy the current state institutions. We want to keep them running.
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Interview English IL 2024-11-28 Tier 2 Ofer Cassif (Jewish anti-Zionist MK for Hadash; only Jewish member of Israel's Arab-majority bloc) — Tribune interview, Nov 2024: "I had to be an anti-Zionist and actively oppose the ideology and practice of Zionism, given my basic socialist beliefs," indicting Israel for "genocide, ethnic cleansing… occupation" and "fascism growing stronger." The radical anti-Zionist Jewish-left pole.
I decided that my way should be the socialist, humanist one rather than the Zionist one, that it wasn't enough not to be a Zionist, but that I had to be an anti-Zionist and actively oppose the ideology and practice of Zionism, given my basic socialist beliefs. This is the situation in Israel — alongside genocide,…
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Interview English JO 2024-09-12 Tier 2 Murad al-Adaileh (Secretary-General of the Islamic Action Front, the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm in Jordan) — to Middle East Eye after the IAF topped Jordan's Sept 2024 elections: the new parliament "must be robust in confronting the extreme Israeli right, which may... align with the extreme American right if Trump wins the US elections."
The next House of Representatives must be robust in confronting the extreme Israeli right, which may, in the future, align with the extreme American right if Trump wins the US elections
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Interview English LB 2024-09-11 Tier 1 Sami Gemayel (leader of the Kataeb Party; Lebanese Christian sovereigntist) — exclusive Annahar interview reproduced on the party's official site (~Sep 2024, during the Israel–Hezbollah war): no reform, recovery, stability or presidential election is possible while Hezbollah's weapons dominate Lebanon; Hezbollah must submit to the state and hand its arms to the Lebanese Army, and war-and-peace decisions belong to the Lebanese alone.
"No reforms, economy, political or security stability, or presidential elections can occur in Lebanon under the dominance of Hezbollah's weapons" "We must unite and have the courage to tell Hezbollah that we refuse to live as second-class citizens in our country"
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Interview Hebrew IL 2024-03-03 Yair Golan — interview, “Unite the Left, topple Netanyahu's government” (Jerusalem Post), 3 March 2024 (English rendering of Hebrew)
(On October 7, after a call that Hamas had begun to invade towns near Gaza, Golan launched a one-man rescue mission; reflecting on that day, he remembers one feeling: rage.) "I remember the moment. […] The feeling that came up was terrible rage, terrible anger. […] I am not angry at Hamas. Hamas hates us and is a…
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Interview English IL 2024-01-18 Tier 2 Gadi Eisenkot (former IDF chief of staff; war-cabinet observer; National Unity MK) — Israeli-TV interview, Jan 2024 (per CNN): prioritizing the hostages over "total victory" — "for me, the mission is to save civilians (hostages) before eliminating the enemy" — and candidly admitting "a strategic achievement was not reached… we did not demolish the Hamas organization."
There's no dilemma: for me, the mission is to save civilians (hostages) before eliminating the enemy. A strategic achievement was not reached … We did not demolish the Hamas organization.
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Interview Arabic IQ 2023-09-21 Mohammed Shia al-Sudani — “A Conversation With the Prime Minister of Iraq” (Council on Foreign Relations transcript), 21 September 2023 (English interpretation of Arabic)
AL-SUDANI: Twenty years after the major change in Iraq […] We went through a very painful experience in countering the regime starting with al-Qaida and ending with ISIS/Daesh. After we accomplished victory over Daesh […] The battle against Daesh unified all Iraqi citizens with all the components and affiliations.…
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Interview Hebrew IL 2023-08-27 Itamar Ben-Gvir — “The right to life supersedes the right to free movement” (Jerusalem Post, on his Channel 12 interview), 27 August 2023 (English translation of Hebrew)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir doubled down on remarks he made in a Channel 12 television interview, in which he argued that Jewish Israelis' safety on West Bank roads outweighs Palestinians' freedom of movement. "It is simple," he said. "The right to life supersedes the right to free movement." "My…
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Interview English EG 2023-08-07 Tier 2 Ayman Nour (Egypt's leading liberal opposition figure; founder, El-Ghad Party) — exclusive DAWN "Democracy in Exile" interview, 7 Aug 2023: frames the 2013 takeover as "a coup against the revolution," casts his exile as the price of free expression, and condemns Sisi-era arbitrary detention and frequent deaths of detainees in custody.
It was a coup against the revolution, and I left," Nour says in an exclusive interview with Democracy in Exile. "I left Egypt to be able to express my opinion and say what I wanted about what is happening in my country. Some people are arrested, but we do not know why they are arrested and why they are released or…
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Interview English LB 2023-07-31 Tier 2 Riad Salameh (Governor of Lebanon's central bank, Banque du Liban, 1993–2023) — statement to CNBC on the day he left office, 31 Jul 2023, rejecting blame for the financial collapse: "It is untrue to hold me directly and solely responsible," arguing exchange policy was set by successive governments, not the central bank.
It is untrue to hold me directly and solely responsible. The exchange policies are determined by the government and [the Banque Du Liban] applies them in every government that was elected since 1993, their target was exchange stability.
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Interview English IL 2023-06-17 Tier 2 Ehud Olmert (former Prime Minister of Israel, 2006–2009) — interview via The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jun 2023: warning that without a two-state solution Israel risks apartheid comparison — "We are reaching a point where we will be compared with the apartheid regime… of South Africa" — and that "this government doesn't want to make peace."
We are reaching a point where we will be compared with the apartheid regime that led the civilized world to boycott South Africa. This government doesn't want to make peace. It won't make any effort to make peace.
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Interview English IL 2023-06-08 Tier 2 Merav Michaeli (then leader of Israel's Labor Party; feminist, Zionist-left) — interview with The Forward during a 2023 US visit (8 Jun 2023): calls reviving liberal Zionism "the future of Israel," likens Netanyahu's politics to Trumpism, and vows to defend Israeli democracy against the judicial overhaul.
The future of Israel depends on its going back to the Zionist vision,” she said during a recent visit to the U.S. “And our side of the political map must rebuild its political power, build the infrastructure that it doesn’t have today to reach people’s hearts and minds. I think post 2016, Americans should realize…
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Interview English IL 2022-09-05 Tier 2 Miri Regev (senior Likud minister; ex-Culture & Sport Minister) — Davar interview, Sep 2022: positioning herself as the voice of the periphery against the center/elite — "they see me as their mouthpiece, and their representative" — and waging culture war on the Tel Aviv establishment: "I made it clear that culture was not born in Tel Aviv." The Likud populist-nationalist / Mizrahi-periphery / anti-elite pole.
You have to understand that in Israeli society, there are still very large gaps between the periphery and the center; There are people who don't have the opportunity and the tools to fight in an equal way, and they see me as their mouthpiece, and their representative. I made it clear that culture was not born in Tel…
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Interview Arabic PS 2021-08-02 Tier 2 حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين — من حوار أمينها العام زياد النخالة (عربي21، 2 أغسطس 2021، ومنشور على الموقع الرسمي للحركة jehad.ps): رفض التسوية مع الاحتلال وبرنامج منظمة التحرير، وأن إقامة دولة فلسطينية لا تتم إلا عبر المقاومة وتغيير موازين القوى. القطب الرافض الإسلامي المقاوم. [موقف سياسي-أيديولوجي معلن؛ المحتوى العملياتي مستبعَد.]
كل من يطرح التسوية مع الاحتلال ويعتقد بأنها ممكنة فهو لا يفهم طبيعة المشروع الصهيوني. إقامة دولة فلسطينية لا يمكن أن تتم إلا عبر تغيير موازين القوى وعبر المقاومة.
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Interview Arabic DZ 2021-06-08 Abdelmadjid Tebboune — main statements to Al Jazeera (APS state-agency summary), 8 June 2021 (English rendering of Arabic)
ALGIERS- President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune has granted an interview to the Qatari news channel Al Jazeera […] in which he raised several crucial national and regional issues […]. At the domestic level, the president of the Republic said "the genuine and blessed Hirak (protest movement) has saved the…
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Interview Other TN 2020-09-23 Abir Moussi — 'Ennahdha n'est pas un parti de souche tunisienne' (Jeune Afrique interview, 23 September 2020)
Vous avez fait d'Ennahdha votre ennemi juré. Pourquoi ? Ennahdha n'est pas un parti de souche tunisienne : il est une émanation ou une filiale de l'organisation internationale des Frères Musulmans. Les liens sont attestés. D'ailleurs, l'autorisation obtenue par Ennahdha pour opérer en tant que parti n'est pas…
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Interview English AE 2020-08-07 Tier 2 Iyad El-Baghdadi (Palestinian-Norwegian pro-democracy activist; founder, Kawaakibi Foundation) — interview with The New Arab, Aug 2020: the Arab Spring digital-activist's "counter-revolution" thesis — "even before the coup in Egypt in 2013, it was clear that my country's [the UAE's] government was leading the counter revolution" — and Twitter as "an alternative parliament for the Arabs" wearing away "the rusty narratives of the region's dictators."
Even before the coup in Egypt in 2013, it was clear that my country's government was leading the counter revolution. Twitter became an alternative parliament for the Arabs, a hangout for native Arabic speakers and thinkers. We started to wear away at the rusty narratives of the region’s dictators.
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Interview Arabic LY 2019-06-19 Khalifa Haftar — exclusive interview “Roadmap Beyond Tripoli” (Al Marsad / Libyan Address), 19 June 2019 (English translation of Arabic)
First and foremost, we count on the efforts of our own soldiers and officers, and on the support of the Libyan people […]. Such change begins with the war on terror, the dismantling of militias, and the ending of this phase of the hijacked authority that lacks proper authorization by the people. No, the solution must…
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Interview English IQ 2018-10-22 Bafel Talabani (PUK) — interview ruling out a return to the PUK–KDP civil war (Al Jazeera, via Rudaw), 22 October 2018
"Over my dead body. And over the dead body of many, many Kurds. This is just not something that will happen. […] We are still paying the price of that internal conflict. Kurds will not, should not, and absolutely must not be allowed to kill Kurds. We need to be able to resolve our issues politically. I think this…
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Interview English SA 2018-04-05 Mohammed bin Salman — TIME interview (during his April 2018 U.S. tour)
TIME: How long have you been thinking about doing this [tour], and what's your rationale behind this? Mohammed bin Salman: When I started to think about doing a tour, we had a plan for Saudi Arabia. […] The United States of America is one of our oldest allies in the whole world, and we are the oldest ally of the…
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Interview Other MR 2017-12-28 Biram Dah Abeid — 'La loi fondamentale sacralise un code négrier' (Le Point Afrique interview, 28 December 2017)
En 2017 et en 2018, qui commence, environ 20 % des Noirs mauritaniens sont possédés par des citoyens mauritaniens arabo-berbères, le plus légalement du monde. La version locale de la charia islamique légalise, légitime et sacralise cette pratique. Ce corpus est inscrit dans la Constitution et considéré comme la…
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Interview English SA 2017-10-14 Mohammed bin Salman — sourced verbatim quotes 2016-2022 (mosaic of policy statements from major interviews; English)
Speaker: Mohammed bin Salman, then Deputy Crown Prince and later Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Mosaic of sourced verbatim quotes assembled from major published interviews 2016-2022. All quotes cross-verified against the Wikiquote-cited primary sources. [On Saudi modernization — Guardian interview, 24 October…
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Interview English IL 2017-08-09 Tier 2 Ayman Odeh interview, Fathom: 'change is impossible without us', 2017
[Q: What is your vision for the future of the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel?] Ayman Odeh: That there should be peace based on two states along the 1967 borders with very good relations between them, and that following the establishment of a Palestinian state there should be peace between Israel and all the Arab…
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Interview English EG 2016-04-08 Tier 2 Mohamed Aboul-Ghar (founder/first president of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party) — interview (per Atlantic Council, ~2016): the ESDP's constructive-critical middle ground — "We are neither an opposition party, nor a pro-government party… When the president does something good, we support him, and when he adopts what [we] believe are wrong decisions, we speak out."
We are neither an opposition party, nor a pro-government party. When the president does something good, we support him, and when he adopts what believe are wrong decisions, we speak out against those decisions.
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Interview English EG 2016-02-16 Tier 2 Bassem Youssef ("the Jon Stewart of Egypt"; satirist) — PBS NewsHour interview, 16 Feb 2016 (5th anniversary of Mubarak's fall): "A revolution is not an event. It's a process. And it takes its time"; and a deadpan-satirical indictment of Egypt's repression — "There is absolutely no crackdown on freedom of speech."
A revolution is not an event. It's a process. And it takes its time. We absolutely have no problem. Political satire shows like mine are still going on, on the air. There is absolutely no crackdown on freedom of speech.
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Interview Arabic MA 2014-10-27 Abdelilah Benkirane (PJD) — interview, “I have not come to change religious beliefs but to solve problems” (Asharq al-Awsat), 27 October 2014 (English translation of Arabic)
When I was appointed as prime minister by His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, I felt that I was an official responsible for running the public affairs of all Moroccans rather than a prophet with a special message. I am just a state official; I may be right and I might make mistakes while addressing people's…
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Interview English BH 2012-03-06 Tier 2 Maryam al-Khawaja (Bahraini human-rights defender; Gulf Center for Human Rights / Bahrain Center for Human Rights) — interview with Diplomatic Courier, March 2012 (~first anniversary of the uprising): a human-rights-universalist stance — "our view is not what kind of government there should be, but... making sure we have a government that respects human rights" — and the 2011 uprising as breaking "the barrier of fear."
To me as a human rights activist, our view is not what kind of government there should be, but rather it’s making sure we have a government that respects human rights. I think that is the most important thing to us. I remember it was pretty amazing seeing thousands and thousands and thousands of people out in the…
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Interview English IQ 2007-05-11 Tier 2 Yanar Mohammed (Iraqi feminist; founder/director, Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq) — interview (Toward Freedom / Guernica, 11 May 2007): OWFI as "the modern, secular voice of Iraq that will not allow this country to be turned into another Afghanistan under the Taliban," and a critique that "women's welfare is... a card... used between misogynist parties," with "most women in government represent Sharia."
We formed in 2003, and spoke about full equality. We represent the modern, secular voice of Iraq that will not allow this country to be turned into another Afghanistan under the Taliban. Women’s welfare is like another card that is used between misogynist parties to pressure each other. Most women in government…
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Interview English IL 2007-02-28 Tier 2 Balad doctrine — MK Jamal Zahalka interview, 'A State of all its Citizens', Feb 2007
Balad is [a] national democratic party defined by two political positions. One is the demand that Israel be a state of all its citizens, as opposed to Israel's self-definition as a Jewish state, and two is cultural autonomy for Palestinians inside Israel. Israel should be a state of all its citizens, not a state that…
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Interview Arabic IL 2002-04-15 حوار مع الشيخ رائد صلاح — المجتمع العصامي والمفاصلة التامة (Northern Islamic Movement — Raed Salah programmatic interview)
نحن الأصل: … نحن نعمل في إطار الحركة الإسلامية لفلسطينيي 48 ومن خلال هذه الحركة نسعي إلي تعميق قيم الإسلام في نفوس المسلمين, ثم خدمة الجماهير الفلسطينية ـ بغض النظر عن تعدداتها الدينية والسياسية ـ ونهتم بشكل خاص بقضية القدس الشريف والأقصي المبارك ، مع إصرارنا الأبدي أننا جزء من شعب فلسطين والعالم العربي والأمة…
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Interview Arabic LB 2001-01-01 Tier 2 Rafik Hariri — Lebanese Sunni PM doctrinal mosaic (Hezbollah-as-resistance defense, Syria-protector framing, BBC 2001)
From Rafik Hariri (1944-2005, Lebanese Sunni politician and business magnate; founder of the Future Movement; Prime Minister 1992-1998 and 2000-2004; architect of post-civil-war Beirut reconstruction through Solidere; assassinated by a truck bomb on Beirut's waterfront on 14 February 2005, triggering the Cedar…
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Interview English IQ Tier 2 Reham Yacoub (Iraqi doctor; women's-rights campaigner; Basra Tishreen protest organizer, assassinated Aug 2020) — Middle East Eye interview, 2018: her defiant resolve — "We are expecting that we might get killed as well, but this won't stop us from asking for our rights and it won't stop us from living" — and determination to keep protesting until their demands are met.
We are expecting that we might get killed as well, but this won't stop us from asking for our rights and it won't stop us from living. They have not heard any of our demands until now. The situation is getting worse. The thing we can do is keep going till we get our rights and for sure there will be some losses on…
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Interview English LB Tier 2 Tarek Bitar (lead investigating judge, Beirut port-blast probe) — statements to media/AP, Jan 2023 (per The961): refusing to step down despite the top prosecutor charging him and releasing suspects — "I will continue with the case and I will not leave it unless they remove me completely," undeterred "even if it is going to cost me my life." Judicial independence vs the political class.
I will continue with the case and I will not leave it unless they remove me completely. …even if it is going to cost me my life.
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Interview English IL Tier 2 May Golan (Likud MK & minister; anti-asylum-seeker activist) — on Sean Hannity's Fox News show (~2016, per JTA), framing opposition to African asylum-seekers as legitimate border protection via a Trump parallel: "this is the same thing in Israel. I… and the rest of the people of Israel, have the right to protect their homes, and its borders." The anti-immigration / ethno-nationalist-populist pole.
I can see here what's going on with Donald Trump. They're calling him racist just for wanting to protect the borders of his country. Well, this is the same thing in Israel. I think I, and the rest of the people of Israel, have the right to protect their homes, and its borders.
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Interview English SY Tier 2 Mazen Darwish (head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression) — interview with Al Majalla (post-Assad-fall, late 2024 / early 2025): a national transitional-justice framework "with accountability at its core" is imperative to prevent vengeance and renewed civil war, but must be objective and "steer clear of the pitfalls of victor's justice."
The absence of accountability, I believe, would open the door to widespread acts of individual vengeance, plunging Syrian society into instability and potentially even civil war. Therefore, establishing a comprehensive national framework for transitional justice, with accountability at its core, is…
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Interview English TN Tier 2 Lina Ben Mhenni ("A Tunisian Girl" blogger; Nobel-nominated free-expression activist) — IJNet interview (~2011): her creed that "Words are weapons that can be used to fight dictatorships," and that "the battle against censorship never ends… fight against self-censorship." The blogger who chronicled the Sidi Bouzid uprising under her real name when media was blacked out.
Words are weapons that can be used to fight dictatorships. The battle against censorship never ends. We must preserve this new freedom and fight against self-censorship.
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Interview English EG Tier 2 Ahmed Maher (co-founder, April 6 Youth Movement) — quoted in the Carnegie Endowment April 6 backgrounder: the Tunisian uprising "led us to think about protesting against corruption, poverty and unemployment." The Facebook-era youth movement that helped spark Jan 25, 2011; Maher was later jailed under the protest law.
led us to think about protesting against corruption, poverty and unemployment
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Interview English SY Tier 2 Razan Zaitouneh (Syrian human-rights lawyer; founder of the Violations Documentation Center; 2011 Sakharov laureate) — direct quotes to Reuters, 2011 (per Syrian Observer profile): insisting "maintaining a peaceful uprising is the best guarantee for its victory," and warning the regime deliberately pushed the revolution toward violence and sectarianism to kill it. Abducted in Douma (the "Douma Four"), Dec 2013.
I still insist that maintaining a peaceful uprising is the best guarantee for its victory. From the first moment of the revolution, the regime has been pushing towards turning people to violence and turning the revolution into a sectarian issue. It knows that it could kill the uprising this way.
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Interview English LY Tier 2 Salwa Bugaighis (Libyan human-rights lawyer; 2011 revolution leader; ex-NTC member) — interview quotes (Tripoli, late 2011, per openDemocracy): on women being sidelined after the revolution despite being "very effective," and her insight that "getting freedom doesn't mean reaching democracy." Assassinated in Benghazi, 25 Jun 2014, hours after voting.
Iman and I were very effective in the beginning but the men didn't believe that women could play a role at this time. They didn't think we had the strength, background or ability. Getting freedom doesn't mean reaching democracy.
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Interview Arabic PS Tier 2 Shireen Abu Akleh (veteran Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent; assassinated 11 May 2022) — her iconic journalistic creed from an Al Jazeera segment (confirmed via Arabi21): "I chose journalism to be close to the human being" — bearing witness and conveying the Palestinian story to the world.
اخترت الصحافة لأكون قريبة من الإنسان
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Interview English EG Tier 2 Patrick Zaki (Egyptian human-rights researcher; postgraduate at Bologna; jailed over a 2019 article on Coptic discrimination) — from a Deutsche Welle interview (via Coptic Solidarity): on his open-ended arbitrary detention ("renewed... like a phone plan") and the chilling effect on his writing — he published only two pieces for fear of provoking the prosecution.
My package of freedom has been renewed for another quarter of a year, like a phone plan. But I only published two pieces, since my legal team is constantly worried that I could anger the prosecution even more.
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Interview English MA Tier 2 Maati Monjib (Moroccan historian, journalist, press-freedom activist) — statement to RSF after his 2021 conviction on "state security"/money-laundering charges that rights groups call fabricated: "This conviction is doubly unjust… [we committed] no crime except exercise our right to freedom of expression and association." Jailed and hunger-struck.
This conviction is doubly unjust because neither my fellow defendants nor I have ever threatened 'internal state security' or committed any other crime except exercise our right to freedom of expression and association.
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Interview English IQ Tier 2 Masrour Barzani (KRG Prime Minister; senior KDP leader) — interview with the Kurdish magazine Gulan (via KDP, ~2017, ahead of the independence referendum): asserting the Kurdish right to self-determination and a NEGOTIATED, peaceful separation from Iraq — "it is time to separate peacefully and become two strong allies." [Second doc — distinct Kurdish self-determination / independence axis.]
We have the right [to an independent country] whenever we want. Many countries now recognize the history of betrayals against the people of Kurdistan and our right to self-determination. Baghdad officials must understand that since they do not accept Kurds as their real partner in the Iraqi Federal Government, it is…