Palestine and the Palestinians in the 21st Century

Description

Past, present, and future of Palestinian life and politics

Recent developments in Palestinian political, economic, and social life have resulted in greater insecurity and diminishing confidence in Israel's willingness to abide by political agreements or the Palestinian leadership's ability to forge consensus. This volume examines the legacies of the past century, conditions of life in the present, and the possibilities and constraints on prospects for peace and self-determination in the future. These historically grounded essays by leading scholars engage the issues that continue to shape Palestinian society, such as economic development, access to resources, religious transformation, and political movements.

Introduction: Palestine and the Palestinians in the Twenty-first Century Rochelle Davis

Part I. Colonial Projects and Twentieth-Century Currents
1. The Zionist Colonization of Palestine in the Context of Comparative Settler Colonialism Gabriel Piterberg
2. Colonial Occupation and Development in the West Bank and Gaza: Understanding the Palestinian Economy through the Work of Yusif Sayigh Leila Farsakh
3. War, Peace, Civil War: A Pattern? Tamim al-Barghouti

Part II. Politics, Law, and Society: 21st-century Developments and Paradigms
4. Hamas Following the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Election: A Critical Victory As'ad Ghanem
5. Before Gaza, After Gaza: Examining the New Reality in Israel/Palestine Sara Roy
6. The Legal Trajectory of the Palestinian Refugee Issue: From Exclusion to Ambiguity Susan Akram
7. The Debate on Islamism and Secularism: The Case of Palestinian Women's Movements Islah Jad
8. Other Worlds to Live In: Palestinian Retrievals of Religion and Tradition under Conditions of Chronic National Collapse Loren Lybarger

Part III. Trajectories for the Future, Solutions for a State
9. Palestine in the American Political Arena: Is a "Reset" Possible? Michael C. Hudson
10. Human Rights and the Rule of Law Noura Erakat
11. Lessons for Palestine from Northern Ireland: Why George Mitchell Couldn't Turn Jerusalem into Belfast Ali Abunimah
12. One State: The Realistic Solution Saree Makdisi

Sujets

• Middle Eastern Studies
• Middle Est
• Middle Eastern
• HISTORY
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Histoire
• History of the Middle East
• General officer
• Middle East
• World
• General

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 07 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9780253010919
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 14 Mo

Extrait

PALESTINE AND THE PALESTINIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
PALESTINE and the PALESTINIANS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY
edited by
ROCHELLE DAVIS and MIMI KIRK
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
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2013 by The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Gerogetown University
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No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Palestine and the Palestinians in the 21st century / edited by Rochelle Davis and Mimi Kirk.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-01080-3 (cloth : alk. paper) - ISBN 978-0-253-01085-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) - ISBN 978-0-253-01091-9 (ebook) 1. Palestinian Arabs-Politics and government-Congresses. 2. Palestinian Arabs-Western Bank-Congresses. 3. Palestinian Arabs-Gaza Strip-Congresses. 4. Arab-Israeli conflict-Congresses. 5. Israel-Politics and government-Congresses. I. Davis, Rochelle, editor of compilation. II. Kirk, Mimi, editor of compilation. III. Piterberg, Gabriel, [date] author. Zionist colonization of Palestine in the context of comparative settler colonialism.
DS113.6P324 = 2013
956.95 3044-dc23
2013034075
1 2 3 4 5 18 17 16 15 14 13
Contents

Acknowlegments
Introduction / Rochelle Davis

PART 1. COLONIAL PROJECTS AND TWENTIETH-CENTURY CURRENTS

1. The Zionist Colonization of Palestine in the Context of Comparative Settler Colonialism / Gabriel Piterberg
2. Colonial Occupation and Development in the West Bank and Gaza: Understanding the Palestinian Economy through the Work of Yusif Sayigh / Leila Farsakh
3. War, Peace, Civil War: A Pattern? / Tamim al-Barghouti

PART 2. POLITICS, LAW, AND SOCIETY: TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS AND PARADIGMS

4. Palestinians Following the 2006 Legislative Election: A Critical Election? / As ad Ghanem
5. Before Gaza, After Gaza: Examining the New Reality in Israel / Palestine / Sara Roy
6. The Legal Trajectory of the Palestinian Refugee Issue: From Exclusion to Ambiguity / Susan Musarrat Akram
7. The Debate on Islamism and Secularism: The Case of Palestinian Women s Movements / Islah Jad
8. Other Worlds to Live In: Palestinian Retrievals of Religion and Tradition under Conditions of Chronic National Collapse / Loren D. Lybarger

PART 3. TRAJECTORIES FOR THE FUTURE, SOLUTIONS FOR A STATE

9. Palestine in the American Political Arena: Is a Reset Possible? / Michael C. Hudson

10. Human Rights and the Rule of Law / Noura Erakat
11. Lessons for Palestine from Northern Ireland: Why George Mitchell Couldn t Turn Jerusalem into Belfast / Ali Abunimah
12. One State: The Realistic Solution / Saree Makdisi

Contributors
Index
Acknowledgments
The editors would like to thank first and foremost the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) at Georgetown University, which hosted the initial conference from which this volume emerged and which subsequently supported the volume in all its stages of development. Special recognition goes to former CCAS director Michael C. Hudson, who co-chaired the conference and who edited a volume on Palestine twenty years earlier ( The Palestinians: New Directions ) from the first CCAS conference on Palestine, which inspired this one. The support of the current director, Osama Abi-Mershed, has been crucial to this volume s publication. We are also grateful to associate director Rania Kiblawi, multimedia and publications editor Steve Gertz, former CCAS director the late Barbara Stowasser, public events coordinator Maggie Daher, and information officer Nick Hilgeman for their critical help. Nick especially stepped in at a late stage to help wrap up the volume; his meticulous and speedy work is particularly appreciated. We also thank Rebecca Barr for her essential help with the proof process and index. Warm thanks particularly go to Rebecca Tolen, sponsoring editor at Indiana University Press, for her support and guidance. The IUP team, including managing editor Angela Burton and copyeditor Eric Levy, made the process of completing the volume a seamless one. Two reviewers provided very helpful comments and made the chapters and overall volume better at a crucial stage. Zan Studio in Ramallah allowed us to use their 2010 remix of Franz Kraus s 1935 Visit Palestine poster as the cover for the paperback edition. The remixed image symbolizes the change that has come for Palestinians living in Palestine in the twenty-first century, where the wall prohibits their access to Jerusalem. Our thanks to the Palestine Poster Project Archive for facilitating our use of this cover image.
The participants in the conference made it an invigorating and provocative milieu in which to talk about Palestine and Palestinians in the twenty-first century. And while a number of them did not contribute papers, we thank them for making us think deeply about many diverse subjects.
Rochelle Davis and Mimi Kirk are especially grateful that they worked so easily and competently with each other across multiple continents and with good humor. They appreciate the contributors hard work, persistence, and patience throughout the long process of editing this volume.
PALESTINE AND THE PALESTINIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Introduction
ROCHELLE DAVIS
The first decade of the twenty-first century witnessed both significant ends and noteworthy beginnings for Palestinians. In this volume, specialists on Palestinian politics, history, economics, and society examine the continuities that bind the twentieth to the twenty-first century. The contributors address these junctures with an analytical eye on the effects of colonial rule and on the political and ideological trends following the 1948 and 1967 wars, bringing a close reading of history into crucial and critical scholarship on the present. They also consider what the future may hold based on the evidence provided by ongoing political, social, economic, and legal developments. The rigorous scholarship in this volume offers a well-grounded perspective from which to recommend informed solutions to bring a just and peaceful future to Palestine and Israel.
At the outset of the twenty-first century and as the decade progressed, it became clear that the political agreements that had underpinned post-Oslo Accord Palestinian-Israeli relations were no longer being observed. Israeli policy under prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu moved sharply to the right. The launch of the second Intifada (2000) shifted Palestinians resistance to Israelis in a way that adopted a new and violent character. The decade saw an increase in the repressiveness of Israeli occupation policies, including completion of the major portions of the separation wall, 1 continued confiscation of Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the building of settlements, 2 extrajudicial executions, 3 and arrests of political activists. 4 These policies solidified the settlement, water, and road networks that by design also inhibit Palestinians access to their farmland, to enough water to live on, and to unhindered movement. 5 The decade also witnessed the rise and then the sharp decrease of Palestinian suicide bombings, 6 as well as the widespread use of nonviolent resistance to land confiscations. 7 At the same time, the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza infringed on residents freedoms of expression and assembly, targeting civil society organizations in general and human rights organizations in particular. 8 This internal repression, coupled with the willingness of the PA to continue to appear at the negotiating table when called by the United States and Israel, has diminished its legitimacy in the eyes of many Palestinians.
The first decade of the twenty-first century also witnessed the beginning of new internal divisions among Palestinian political groups. Following the death in 2004 of Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat, the longtime head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Fatah movement, new political forces mobilized to take over the leadership role. The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) agreed to participate in the national legislative elections that took place in 2006. Its entry into the political mainstream signaled its acceptance at that time of the political framework in which the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Legislative Council existed and was seen as a move toward widespread democratic representation. Israel and the international community responded by penalizing the Palestinians for voting for Hamas, creating new cleavages and more opportunities for internal repression. 9 Accompanying these political shifts, Palestinian society has witnessed a rise of religious groups and local civil society organizations, and these ties are increasingly important as bases for social identification, reflecting a weakening of the major political parties in the PLO and their associated organizations such as women s and student groups and labor committees.
After 2001, the international community called for or set up no fewer than eight negotiation processes between Palestinians and Israelis, none of which produced tangible changes. While peace, stability, and democratic rule