CIAO DATE: 03/2009
Volume: 37, Issue: 4
Summer 2008
Enclave Micropolis: The Paradoxical Case of Ramallah/al-Bireh
Lisa Taraki
Among the consequences of the consolidation of the Israeli closure regime have been the contraction of Palestinians' social worlds and the emergence of new forms of localism. Unlike the more parochial West Bank towns of Nablus, Hebron, and Jenin, Ramallah/al-Bireh has taken on many of the cosmopolitan aspects of larger metropoles-Beirut, Cairo, Tunis-because of a combination of historical influences, present-day migration patterns, and political realities. The result is a paradoxical "enclave city" whose sights are oftentimes more fixed on the global rather than the national level.
Palestinian Weddings: Inventing Palestine in New Jersey
Randa Serhan
As the political situation of the Palestinians has changed, so too have the customs and practices of Palestinians in the Diaspora. Using Eric Hobsbawm's concept of "invented tradition" as a point of departure, this article explores the origins, functions, and implications of some of the elements-including dance, song, and costume-of Palestinian-American wedding celebrations in the New York/New Jersey/ Pennsylvania area, which since the first intifada have evolved into occasions for celebrating nationalist as well as communal identity.
Secrets and Lies: The Persecution of Muhammad Salah (Part I)
Michael E. Deutsch, Erica Thompson
The case of Muhammad Salah, a Palestinian-American grocer and Chicago resident, is the longest-running terrorism case in the United States. He was brought to trial on terrorism-funding charges in October 2006 after a thirteen-year saga that began with his January 1993 arrest in Israel as the "world commander of Hamas" and that continued in the United States following his release from Israeli prison in late 1997.
Though acquitted of all terrorism-related charges by a U.S. federal jury in Chicago in February 2007, Salah was convicted on a single count of obstruction of justice. In this exclusive report for JPS, Salah's lawyers recount the unfolding of this landmark and labyrinthine case, analyzing its legal underpinnings and implications. His prosecution served to advance new standards governing the admissibility of coerced confessions at trial and the use of secret evidence, while at the same time establishing new procedures for preventing the cross-examination of key witnesses and closing the courtroom to the press and public during crucial testimony.
Even before his U.S. trial, his taped confession extracted under Shin Bet torture served as the linchpin of the U.S. government's investigation and prosecution of persons it suspected of providing material support for Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation. More broadly, the years covered by the case show the erosion of the rule of law in the United States, as well as the melding of the discourses, strategies, tactics, and aims of U.S. and Israeli law enforcement and intelligence bodies long before the post-9/11 launch of the "global war on terror."
Part I of this two-part account lays the ground for the 2006-7 Chicago trial, covering the period of Salah's arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment in Israel and the investigations and legal proceedings against him upon his return. Part II will focus on the crafting of the case by the Justice Department under Pres. George W. Bush and the trial itself.
A Hamas Perspective on the Movement's Evolving Role: An Interview with Khalid Mishal, Part II
Mouin Rabbani
n this second installment of his interview for JPS, Khalid Mishal, Hamas politburo chief since 1996 and head of the movement since the assassination of Shaykh Ahmad Yasin in 2004, continues his discussion of Hamas's evolution and strategy. Whereas the focus of part I was Mishal's personal background, political formation, and the founding of the movement, here Hamas's more recent history is foregrounded. From the unfolding conflict and troubled relations with Fatah since the mid-1990s, Mishal recounts the thinking behind the decision formally to integrate into the Palestinian political system born of Oslo by participating the 2006 legislative elections and joining the Palestinian Authority government. He also delves into the ongoing repercussions of these decisions, including the splits within the Palestinian movement culminating in Hamas's seizure of power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. In the course of the more than three-hour interview, Mishal's straightforward manner is on display, as well as his willingness to be challenged on matters as sensitive as Hamas's suicide bombings and the targeting of Israeli civilians, the utility of armed resistance, and the morality of the struggle.
Two themes underlying the interview were Mishal's preoccupation with the need to repair the intra-Palestinian split ("our greatest priority") and the devastating impact of the ongoing siege of the Gaza. Since our interview in early March 2008, two potentially significant developments with relevance to these concerns have taken place. On the internal Palestinian front, Mishal repeatedly emphasized the need for intra-Palestinian dialogue without preconditions, with all subjects on the table including controversial topics like early elections. A first step toward reconciliation was made on 24 March 2008, when Hamas and Fatah representatives signed the "Sana'a Declaration," negotiated in the Yemeni capital, which outlined points of consensus on various domestic issues including security and political institutions.
Though the declaration quickly ran aground, with Fatah demanding that Hamas immediately cede control of Gaza before implementation of other aspects would be discussed, by June 2008, Hamas and Fatah were once again considering national unity talks on the basis of the Yemeni initiative. As for alleviating the extreme external pressures on the Hamas-led Gaza Strip, indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel mediated by Egypt produced a bilateral cease-fire that went into effect on 18 June. Though initially confined to Gaza, the understandings also call for a gradual reversal of the siege as well as renewed negotiations on a prisoner exchange, including the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
Hovering over both Hamas-Israel and Hamas-Fatah relations is Washington, which remains opposed to any deals through which the Palestinian Islamists can emerge from their enforced isolation. Yet whatever the ultimate success of either development, the reality is that Mishal and Hamas are increasingly central players in the intra-Palestinian, Israeli-Palestinian, and broader regional equations. Indeed, itwas Mishal, not Abbas, whose movement reached an agreement with Israel before the expiration of the Bush administration.
Review: Sa'di and Abu-Lughod: Nakba, 1948, and the Claims of Memory
Saleh Abdel Jawad
Review: Falk and Friel: Israel Palestine on Record and Dunsky: Pens and Swords
Cheryl Rubenberg
Review: Khalifeh: The Image, the Icon, and the Covenant
Hala Halim
Review: Masalha: The Bible and Zionism
Marc Chmiel
The Bible and Zionism: Invented Traditions, Archaeology and Post-Colonialism in Israel-Palestine, by Nur Masalha. New York and London: Zed Books, 2007. 321 pages. Notes to p. 335. Bibliography to p. 354. Index to p. 366. $126.00 cloth; $36.00 paper.
Review: Parsons: The Politics of the Palestinian Authority
Jamil Hilal
The Politics of the Palestinian Authority: From Oslo to al-Aqsa, by Nigel Parsons. New York and London: Routledge, 2005. xxx + 319 pages. Appendices to p. 341. Notes to p. 394. Bibliography to p. 411. Index to p. 429. $95.00 cloth.
Review: Honig-Parnass and Haddad: Between the Lines
Elaine C. Hagopian
Between the Lines: Readings on Israel, the Palestinians, and the U.S. War on Terror, edited by Tikva Honig-Parnass and Toufic Haddad. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2007. 335 pages. Notes on contributors to p. 341. Endnotes to p. 387. Index to p. 405. $17.00 paper.
Review: Auerbach and Sharkansky: Politics and Planning in the Holy City
Michael Dumper
Politics and Planning in the Holy City, by Gedalia Auerbach and Ira Sharkansky. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2007. 127 pages. Appendix to p. 136. Index to p. 138. $39.95 cloth.
Review: Brecher: A Stranger in the Land: Jewish Identity Beyond Nationalism
Oren Ben-Dor
A Stranger in the Land: Jewish Identity beyond Nationalism, by Daniel Cil Brecher, trans. Barbara Harshav. New York: Other Press, 2007. xiii + 366 pages. Bibliography to p. 372. $15.95 paper.
Review: Sufian and LeVine: Reapproaching Borders: New Perspectives on the Study of Israel-Palestine
Lori Allen
Reapproaching Borders: New Perspectives on the Study of Israel-Palestine, edited by Sandy Sufian and Mark LeVine. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007. x + 311 pages. Index to p. 319. $80.00 cloth; $29.95 paper.
Review: Efrat: The West Bank and Gaza Strip
Mark LeVine
The West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Geography of Occupation and Disengagement, by Elisha Efrat. Oxon, U.K.: Routledge, 2006. xi + 206 pages. Glossary to p. 208. Bibliography to p. 212. Index to p. 216. $34.95 paper.
Arab Views
This section aims to give readers a glimpse of how the Arab world views current events that affect Palestinians and the Arab-Israeli conflict by presenting a selection of cartoons from al-Hayat, the most widely distributed mainstream daily in the Arab world. JPS is grateful to al-Hayat for permission to reprint its material.
From the Hebrew Press
This section includes articles by Israeli journalists and commentators that have been selected for their frank reporting, insightful analyses, or interesting perspectives on events, developments, or trends in Israel and the occupied territories.
Photos from the Quarter
This small sample of photos, selected from hundreds viewed by JPS, aims to convey a sense of the situation on the ground in the occupied territories during the quarter.
Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy
The Quarterly Update is a summary of bilateral, multilateral, regional, and international events affecting the Palestinians and the future of the peace process.
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4, p. 116
Michele K. Esposito
Settlement Monitor
This section covers items-reprinted articles, statistics, and maps-pertaining to Israeli settlement activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Unless otherwise stated, the items have been written by Geoffrey Aronson for this section or drawn from material written by him for Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories (hereinafter Settlement Report), a Washington-based bimonthly newsletter published by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. JPS is grateful to the foundation for permission to draw on its material.
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4, p. 150
Geoffrey Aronson
International A1. John Holmes, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Briefing to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East, Geneva, 26 February 2008 (excerpts)
International
A1. John Holmes, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Briefing to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East, Geneva, 26 February 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 159
Documents and Source Material
John Holmes's briefing emphasizes the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza resulting from Israeli restrictions on the movement of people and goods. Holmes was appointed Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs in January 2007 by UN Secy.-Gen. Ban Kimoon. The full text is available online at www.ochaonline.un.org.
A2. British MP Michael Ancram, Essay Comparing the Northern Ireland and Israeli-Palestinian Conflicts, March 2008 (excerpts)
A2. British MP Michael Ancram, Essay Comparing the Northern Ireland and Israeli-Palestinian Conflicts, March 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 161
Documents and Source Material
As minister of state in the Northern Ireland Office in 1994, Michael Ancram was the first British minister to meet with Sinn Fin and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 25 years, overseeing talks between Sinn Fein and the British government that began the peace process that ultimately resulted in the decommissioning of the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 2005 and the formal implementation of power-sharing in 2007. This essay, entitled "The Middle East Peace Process: The Case for Jaw-Jaw not War-War," first appeared in Accord (Issue 19), Conciliation Resources, March 2008 and was circulated by Conflicts Forum. The full text is available online at www.conflictsforum.org.
Arab B1. Abbas Zaki, PLO Executive Committee Representative to Lebanon, Apology to Lebanon on Behalf of the Palestinian People, 7 January 2008
Arab
B1. Abbas Zaki, PLO Executive Committee Representative to Lebanon, Apology to Lebanon on Behalf of the Palestinian People, 7 January 2008
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 163
Documents and Source Material
Abbas Zaki made the following statement at a ceremony in Beirut marking the 43d anniversary of Fatah. The text, which was published by Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filastiniyya in spring 2008, was translated from Arabic by JPS.
B2. Mahmud al-Zahar, Hamas Foreign Minister, "No Peace without Hamas," Washington Post, 17 April 2008 (excerpts)
B2. Mahmud al-Zahar, Hamas Foreign Minister, "No Peace without Hamas," Washington Post, 17 April 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 165
Documents and Source Material
Mahmud al-Zahar, based in Gaza, is a cofounder of Hamas and served as Palestinian Authority foreign minister in PM Ismail Haniyeh's government, elected in January 2006, until that government was ousted in June 2007. This essay appeared as an op-ed in the Washington Post during a regional tour by former president Jimmy Carter, who met informally with Hamas leaders in Damascus, Cairo, and Ramallah (see Carter's trip report in Doc. D4, below). The same day the Washington Post ran Zahar's piece, its lead editorial criticized Zahar for his "hatred of Israel" and Carter for "embrac[ing] Hamas terrorists," denouncing Hamas as "a group that advocates terrorism, mass murder or the extinction of another state [Israel]." Both pieces can be found online at www.washingtonpost.com.
Israel C1. Vice PM and FM Tzipi Livni, Address to the International Conference of the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism, Jerusalem, 24 February 2008 (excerpts)
Israel
C1. Vice PM and FM Tzipi Livni, Address to the International Conference of the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism, Jerusalem, 24 February 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 166
Documents and Source Material
The following excerpts from Minister Livni's welcoming speech to delegates from forty states participating in the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism conference held in Jerusalem on 24-25 February indicate that the Israeli government considers the fight against anti-Semitism to be central to Israeli foreign policy and urges more states to confront anti-Semitism in an urgent and systematic manner. (For comparison, see the U.S. Department of State's "Report on Global Anti-Semitism" in Doc. D3 below.) The full text of the speech is available online at www.mfa.gov.il.
C2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Responding to Hamas Attacks from Gaza—Issues of Proportionality," March 2008 (excerpts)
C2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Responding to Hamas Attacks from Gaza-Issues of Proportionality," March 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 167
Documents and Source Material
In response to criticisms that its military attacks on Gaza following Hamas Qassam rocket strikes in Sederot were causing unnecessary civilian casualties, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) released a background paper in March, excerpted below, to clarify and justify the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) understanding of the principle of proportionality. This principle, along with the principle of intentionality, forms the jurisprudence of International Humanitarian Law. Citing a number of international legal scholars and Article 52(2) of the Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions (1977), to which Israel is a signatory, the background paper attempts to redefine proportionality in order to legitimate attacks on targets that are not strictly military, placing the blame for any civilian deaths on Hamas for using civilians as "human shields." Although the IDF and the MFA have advanced this argument in response to international criticism about IDF strikes causing civilian deaths in Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories, this background paper represents an attempt to subordinate the need to cause as little harm to civilians as possible to Israel's stated need to preempt future attacks. The report is available online at www.mfa.gov.il.
C3. Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), "'Family Matters': Using Family Members to Pressure Detainees under GSS Interrogation," Jerusalem, 13 April 2008 (excerpts)
C3. Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), "‘Family Matters': Using Family Members to Pressure Detainees under GSS Interrogation," Jerusalem, 13 April 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 169
Documents and Source Material
On 13 April, the Israeli human rights organization Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI) released an extensive report, excerpted below, detailing the Israeli Security Agency's (Shin Bet) use of abuse and threats against detainees' family members in order to extract confessions. PCATI's report also reveals that despite the Israeli High Court ruling against the use of torture in 1999, both physical and psychological torture, assisted by physicians, continues. The report concludes with recommendations concerning both legislation and the supervision of the General Security Services (GSS) that will contribute to preventing the use of this deplorable method. One of six cases presented in the report is excerpted below. The full report is available online at www.stoptorture.org.il.
D3. U.S. Department of State, "Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism," Washington, DC, March 2008 (excerpts)
D3. U.S. Department of State, "Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism," Washington, DC, March 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 178
Documents and Source Material
In 2004, Pres. George W. Bush signed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act into law, establishing the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism within the State Department and requiring the secy. of state to submit an occasional report to Congress on anti-Semitic activity around the world that covers events; the responses of the respective government, including measures taken to enforce laws that ensure freedom of religion for the Jewish people; efforts of each government to promote anti-bias education; and media that propagate, promote, or justify acts of racial hatred against Jewish people. The first Global Anti-Semitism Report was issued on 15 December 2004. The second report, excerpted below, was released on 14 March 2008 and is available in full at www.state.gov. For comparison, see Israeli Vice PM and FM Tzipi Livni's speech in Doc. C1, above.
D4. Former Pres. Jimmy Carter, Notes on Meetings with Hamas Leaders and Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Asad, and Observations Regarding the Peace Process, Atlanta, GA, 22 April 2008 (excerpts)
D4. Former Pres. Jimmy Carter, Notes on Meetings with Hamas Leaders and Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Asad, and Observations Regarding the Peace Process, Atlanta, GA, 22 April 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 182
Documents and Source Material
From 13-22 April, former U.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter held high-profile meetings with political and civil society leaders in Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The trip occasioned heated debates in the U.S. and Israeli media, largely because Carter planned to meet with Hamas leaders, particularly Khalid Mishal, who agreed in the course of their Damascus talks to put Hamas's position on final status talks with Israel in writing, which Carter formally unveiled at the end of his trip (see excerpts). Initially, Carter intended to make the trip part of a larger delegation led by Nelson Mandela to raise awareness of the urgent need for Israeli-Arab peace and the interlocking nature of the region's conflicts. After Israel denied the group's request to meet with senior officials during the tour to protest the planned meeting with Mishal, the delegation canceled its trip, and Carter opted to go on his own on behalf of the Carter Center. Israel agreed to receive him but denied permission for him to travel to Gaza to meet with Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh. Carter instead met with Hamas officials in Ramallah, Cairo, and Damascus. Israeli PM Ehud
Olmert, Vice PM and FM Tzipi Livni, and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Palestinian pres. Mahmud Abbas, turned down requests to meet. Carter was received 4/13 on behalf of Israel by Pres. Shimon Peres, who reprimanded him for having "caused many problems in recent years with your comments and meetings," and 4/14 on behalf of the PA by PM Salam Fayyad. During the trip, he alsomet with the PA's negotiation advisers, various
Israeli MKs, Israeli and Palestinian student groups, U.S. security envoy Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, Syrian pres. Bashar al-Asad, Jordan's King Abdallah, and Saudi Arabia's King Abdallah. The State Dept. urged (4/10) Carter against meeting with Mishal, arguing that it went against U.S. policy of isolating Hamas. Carter responded that peace could not be achieved without including Hamas and stressed that he was traveling in a personal capacity. The following excerpts from Carter's "Trip Report" cover his meetings with Hamas leaders and President Asad, and his overall impressions regarding the status of the peace process. The full text is available online at www.cartercenter.org.
D5. Pres. George W. Bush, Address to Members of the Knesset, Jerusalem, 15 May 2008 (excerpts)
D5. Pres. George W. Bush, Address to Members of the Knesset, Jerusalem, 15 May 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 182
Documents and Source Material
George W. Bush visited Israel from 13 to 16 May in celebration of the country's 60th anniversary. His speech to the Knesset, which was noted in both the U.S. and Israeli press for its hawkishness, was boycotted by Palestinian MKs. The speech is available online at www.whitehouse.gov.
D6. Pres. George W. Bush, Address to the World Economic Forum, Sharm al-Shaykh, Egypt, 18 May 2008 (excerpts)
D6. Pres. George W. Bush, Address to the World Economic Forum, Sharm al-Shaykh, Egypt, 18 May 2008 (excerpts)
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2008), p. 188
Documents and Source Material
Following his visit to Israel, George W. Bush made stops in Saudi Arabia and Egypt to visit with Saudi King Abdallah and Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak and to attend the World Economic Forum. The full speech is available at www.whitehouse.gov.
This section is part of a chronology begun in JPS 13, no. 3 (Spring 1984). Chronology dates reflect Eastern Standard Time (EST). For a more comprehensive overview of events related to the al-Aqsa intifada and of regional and international developments related to the peace process, see the Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy in this issue.
16 FEBRUARY
As the quarter opened, Israeli and Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiating teams created at the 11/07 Annapolis summit were holding regular meetings to discuss final status (see Quarterly Update for details). Israel, meanwhile, maintained an extremely tight seal on Gaza following Hamas's 1/23-2/3 breach of the Gaza-Egypt border (see Quarterly Update in JPS 147); no exports were permitted and only very limited humanitarian imports were allowed. During the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) makes a ground incursion into Rafah, clashing with local gunmen, killing 1 Hamas mbr., wounding 7 Palestinians (including 1 bystander). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in `Ayn al-Sultan refugee camp (r.c.) nr. Jericho, nr. Nablus. A Palestinian resistance mbr. wounded during a 2/11 IDF raid on Wadi al-Silqa dies. An Islamic Jihad mbr. dies of injuries sustained on 2/15 when a mortar he was preparing exploded prematurely. (WP 2/17; OCHA 2/20; PCHR 2/21; OCHA 3/4)
17 FEBRUARY
The IDF makes a predawn incursion into al-Shuka in s. Gaza, exchanging fire with local Palestinians, leaving 3 Hamas mbrs. and 1 mbr. of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRCs) dead, more than 20 Palestinians wounded (including "several" gunmen), 1 IDF soldier seriously injured; at least 80 Palestinians are detained for questioning before the IDF withdraws in the afternoon. The IDF also sends armored vehicles, bulldozers into areas n. of Bayt Lahiya in n. Gaza to level land. After a Palestinian rocket hits a home in Sederot later in the day (causing no injuries), Israeli PM Ehud Olmert gives the IDF a "free hand" to operate against militants in Gaza, stating that Gazans would "not be allowed to live normal lives" as long as Israelis are targeted by rocket fire. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm town and r.c., in Abu Dis nr. East Jerusalem and Nablus, nr. Jenin; fences off farmlands along a settler-only bypass road nr. Azun nr. Nablus to prevent Palestinian youths fr. stoning passing Jewish settler vehicles. Nr. Hebron, a Palestinian boy is injured when he accidentally triggers unexploded ordnance (UXO) left by the IDF. (NYT, WP 2/18; OCHA 2/20; PCHR 2/21)
18 FEBRUARY
The IDF sends armored vehicles, bulldozers into the Erez industrial zone to level land. Palestinians fire at least 15 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries. Egypt sends 334 Gazans it has rounded up since the border was reclosed on 2/3 back to the Strip through the Rafah crossing; another 150 Gazans are being held at a youth hostel in al-Arish. A Palestinian dies of injuries sustained during the 2/17 IDF raid on al-Shuka. (WT 2/19; OCHA 2/20; PCHR 2/21)
19 FEBRUARY
The IDF sends troops to Dayr al-Balah and Wadi al-Silqa in central (c.) Gaza, exchanging fire with local Palestinians, killing an 11-yr.-old Palestinian boy; fatally shoots a Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) mbr. planting a roadside bomb nr. the Gaza border fence. In n. Gaza, 3 Palestinians are injured when a rocket fired toward Israel lands inside the Strip. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm and in Hebron, Jenin (raiding a Hamas-affiliated charity, confiscating computers and files). (NYT, OCHA, WP 2/20; PCHR 2/21)
20 FEBRUARY
In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units in a car with Palestinian license plates into Tulkarm to raid a café, detaining 13 Palestinians, releasing most (including a 14-yr.-old boy) later in the day; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Nablus. Unidentified gunmen fire on the home of a senior Hamas mbr. in Gaza City, causing no injuries. (PCHR 2/21; OCHA 2/27; PCHR 2/28)
21 FEBRUARY
Gaza's Health Min. and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Rafah report that most of their ambulances have stopped running for lack of fuel. The IDF makes a late-night air strike on a group of Palestinians nr. the Gaza border e. of al-Maghazi, killing 2 armed Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Tulkarm, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. (PCHR 2/21; OCHA 2/27; PCHR 2/28)
22 FEBRUARY
IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Gaza City fire a missile at a group of armed Palestinians nr. the border, wounding 1 armed Palestinian, 1 Palestinian teenager outside his home nearby. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in `Ayn Bayt al-Ma' r.c. nr. Nablus (arresting senior Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP] mbr. Majdi Mabruk) and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Tulkarm; breaks the windows of several Palestinian cars parked nr. a Hebron building occupied by Jewish settlers for the past yr., stating the vehicles posed a threat to the settlers; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil`in nr. Ramallah (injuring 6). Hamas-affiliated imam Majid Barghouti (age 44), who was among 8 Palestinians arrested by the PA in a raid nr. Ramallah on 2/14, dies in PA General Intelligence custody in Ramallah of apparent torture; PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas puts West Bank security forces on high alert, orders an investigation. (JP 2/23; WP 2/24; al-Akhbar [Cairo] 2/26; OCHA 2/27; PCHR 2/28)
23 FEBRUARY
The IDF shells a suspected rocket-launching site nr. Bayt Hanun in n. Gaza, killing 3 Palestinian civilians sitting outside a house. Palestinians fire 4 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols, conducts random ID checks in Anabta nr. Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and in Hebron, Qabatya nr. Jenin. (NYT, WP 2/24; OCHA 2/27; PCHR 2/28)
24 FEBRUARY
The IDF makes an incursion into al-Shuka in s. Gaza, raiding and searching homes, clashing with local gunmen, killing 1 armed Palestinian, detaining 50 Palestinians for questioning, arresting 3 and transporting them to Israel. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, Nablus, and nr. Jenin, Tulkarm. In Dayr al-Balah, Hamas-affiliated police raid the Prisoners' Association building, confiscate documents and furniture. (NYT 2/25; OCHA 2/27; PCHR 2/28)
25 FEBRUARY
Overnight, the IDF makes air strikes on suspected rocket-launching sites in n. Gaza, killing 2 Hamas mbrs., 1 unidentified armed Palestinian, 2 bystanders. Across Gaza, several thousand Palestinians take part in a nonviolent march to the border with Israel to urge an end to the siege; Hamas-affiliated security forces block demonstrators fr. reaching the Erez crossing. After the rally, some Palestinian youths gather at Erez and throw stones toward IDF positions, burn tires; the IDF fires on them, wounding 2. Palestinians fire 11 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, seriously injuring a 10-yr.-old Israeli boy in Sederot. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Nablus in a truck with Palestinian license plates, raiding a shop, firing on those inside wounding 2 Palestinians, arresting 6 (including a 16-yr.-old boy); conducts rare arrest raids, house searches in Jericho. (IFM, JP, NYT 2/25; NYT, WT 2/26; OCHA 2/27; PCHR 2/28)
26 FEBRUARY
Overnight, the IDF sends troops into Hebron to search the offices of several schools, youth centers, and orphanages (housing some 1,000 children) owned by the Islamic Charitable Association (ICA), issuing an order declaring the ICA an illegal organization affiliated with Hamas, demanding that the buildings be vacated and turned over to the IDF for a 3-yr. period by 4/8, and stating that anyone remaining in the buildings will be considered to be admitting membership in Hamas and thereby subject to 5-yr. imprisonment; soldiers immediately confiscate 2 buses, a car, computers, appliances, furniture, documents; the ICA, a major philanthropic group founded in 1962 that runs many schools, nurseries, bakeries, and other services for the poor across the West Bank, denies Hamas affiliation. During the day, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home. Meanwhile, in s. Gaza, the IDF sends troops into al-Qarara, firing on residential areas, killing 1 Palestinian civilian. (OCHA, WP 2/27; PCHR 2/28; al-Ahram Weekly [Cairo] 4/18)
This section lists articles and reviews of books relevant to Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Entries are classified under the following headings: Reference and General; History (to 1948) and Geography; Palestinian Politics and Society; Jerusalem; Israeli Politics, Society, and Zionism; Arab and Middle Eastern Politics; International Relations; Law; Military; Economy, Society, and Education; Literature and Art; Book Reviews; and Reports Received.
Reference and General
Davidson, Lawrence. "The Attack on Middle East Studies: A Historical Perspective." MEP 15, no. 1 (Spr. 08): 149-60.
Dueck, Jennifer M. "The Middle East and North Africa in the Imperial and Post-Colonial Historiography of France." Historical Journal 50, no. 4 (07): 935-50.
Firestone, Reuven. "Contextualizing Anti-Semitism in Islam: Chosenness, Choosing, and the Emergence of New Religion." International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies 4, no. 3 (Sep. 07): 235-54.
Kahtani, Hani M. "Islamic Architecture: A Reflection of the Political and Social Structure of the State in Islam" [in Arabic]. MA 30, no. 348 (Feb. 08): 27-40.
Kirmanj, Sherko. "The Relationship between Traditional and Contemporary Islamist Political Thought." MERIA 12, no. 1 (Mar. 08): 69-82.
Kurzman, Charles. "Cross-Regional Approaches to Middle East Studies: Constructing and Deconstructing a Region." MESA 41, no. 1 (Sum. 07): 24-29.
Mahmud, Ahmad I. "The Concept of Terrorism: Ambiguous Terms and Suspicious Functions" [in Arabic]. ShA, no. 133 (Spr. 08): 48-64.
Yusef, Ayman T. "The Western Stereotype of Islam: Between Extremism and Phobia" [in Arabic]. MAUS, no. 18 (Spr. 08): 117-46.
Zurndorfer, Harriet T. "The Orientation of JESHO's Orient and the Problem of 'Orientalism': Some Reflections on the Occasion of JESHO's Fiftieth Anniversary." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 51, no. 1 (08): 2-30.
History (tHROUGH 1948) and Geography
Adorno, Massimo L. "De Clementi's Report: The Nineteenth Zionist Congress, Lucerne, 1935, as Viewed by an Italian Diplomat." IsA 14, no. 2 (Apr. 08): 288-300.
Bernstein, Deborah, and Badi Hasisi. "'Buy and Promote the National Cause': Consumption, Class Formation and Nationalism in Mandate Palestinian Society." Nations and Nationalism 14, no. 1 (Jan. 08): 127-50.
Coleman, Simon. "A Tale of Two Centres? Representing Palestine to the British in the Nineteenth Century." Mobilities 2, no. 3 (Nov. 07): 331-45.
Dueck, Jennifer M. "A Muslim Jamboree: Scouting and Youth Culture in Lebanon under the French Mandate." French Historical Studies 30, no. 3 (Sum. 07): 485-517.
Gal, Allon, and Isaac Lubelsky. "The Disintegration of the British Empire and the Nationalist Cases of India and Israel: A Comparative Analysis." IsA 14, no. 2 (Apr. 08): 165-83.
Hametz, Maura E. "Zionism, Emigration, and Antisemitism in Trieste: Central Europe's 'Gateway to Zion,' 1896-1943." Jewish Social Studies 13, no. 3 (Spr./Sum. 07): 103-34.
Hanania, Mary. "Jurji Habib Hanania: History of the Earliest Press in Palestine, 1908-1914." JQ, no. 32 (Fall 07): 51-69.
Harel, Yaron. "Jewish Nationalism, Zionism, Journalism and Socialism under Faisal's Rule in Damascus" [in Hebrew]. Pe'amim, nos. 111-12 (Spr.-Sum. 07): 103-44.
Kabalo, Paula. "Leadership behind the Curtains: The Case of Israeli Women in 1948." Modern Judaism 28, no. 1 (Feb. 08): 14-40.
Keren, Shlomit, and Michael Keren. "Chaplain with a Star of David: Reverend Leib Isaac Falk and the Jewish Legions." IsA 14, no. 2 (Apr. 08): 184-201.
Mrowat, Ahmad. "Karimeh Abbud: Early Woman Photographer (1896-1955)." JQ, no. 31 (Sum. 07): 72-78.
Newsinger, John. "Liberal Imperialism and the Occupation of Egypt in 1882." Race and Class 49, no. 3 (Jan. 08): 54-75.
Renton, James. "Changing Languages of Empire and the Orient: Britain and the Invention of the Middle East, 1917-1918." Historical Journal 50, no. 3 (07): 645-68.
Wahrman, Jacob, Ron Shafir, and Dror Wahrman. "The Vanishing Station at Sejed: On the History and Significance of the Jaffa-Jerusalem Railroad" [in Hebrew]. Cathedra, no. 125 (Sep. 07): 31-52.
Williams, Manuela. "Mussolini's Secret War in the Mediterranean and the Middle East: Italian Intelligence and the British Response." Intelligence and National Security 22, no. 6 (Dec. 07): 881-904.
Palestinian Politics and Society
Ahmed, Hisham H. "Hamas under the Spotlight." Against the Current 22, no. 6 (08): 26-30.
Allam, Do`aa H. "Palestinian Crossings: A Complex Problem" [in Arabic]. SD 44, no. 172 (Apr. 08): 140-45.
El-Astal, Sofián. "The Values of the Palestinian University Youth." Revista de Psicología Social 23, no. 1 (Jan. 08): 53-61.
Azaar, Muhammad K. "Ambiguous Arab Concepts and Prospects: The Case of Palestine" [in Arabic]. ShA, no. 133 (Spr. 08): 114-26.
Baqer, Ibrahim. "Does the Left Resist Compromise When the Homeland is Occupied?" [in Arabic]. MA 30, no. 349 (Mar. 08): 73-80.
Barghouti, Omar. "Palestine: débâcle du mouvement national et conditions d'une renaissance." Alternatives Sud 14, no. 4 (07): 155-59.
Biger, Gideon. "The Boundaries of Israel-Palestine Past, Present, and Future: A Critical Geographical View." IsS 13, no. 1 (Spr. 07): 68-93.
Challand, Benoît. "A Nahda of Charitable Organizations? Health Service Provision and the Politics of Aid in Palestine." IJMES 40, no. 2 (May 08): 227-47.
Crispino, Franck. "Importance de la preuve scientifique dans la création d'un Etat: l'exemple palestinien." Revue Internationale de Criminologie et de Police Technique et Scientifique 60, no. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 07): 455-60.
Gross, Zehavit. "Relocation in Rural and Urban Settings: A Case Study of Uprooted Schools from the Gaza Strip." Education and Urban Society 40, no. 2 (08): 269-95.
Hamdan, Lubna K., M. Zarei, R.R. Chianelli, et al. "Sustainable Water and Energy in Gaza Strip." Renewable Energy 33, no. 6 (08): 1137-46.
Hart, Jason. "Dislocated Masculinity: Adolescence and the Palestinian Nation-in-Exile." Journal of Refugee Studies 21, no. 1 (Mar. 08): 64-81.
Hasian, Marouf. "Tangled Rhetorical Histories and Competing Political Memories: Remembering Palestine." Review of Communication 7, no. 4 (Oct. 07): 388-95.
Hassan-Bitar, Sahar, and Laura Wick. "Evoking the Guardian Angel: Childbirth Care in a Palestinian Hospital." Reproductive Health Matters 15, no. 30 (Nov. 07): 103-13.
al-Houdalieh, Salah H. "The Destruction of Palestinian Archaeological Heritage: Saffa Village as a Model." Near Eastern Archaeology 69, no. 2 (Jun. 07): 102-12.
Kayyali, Majed. "The Gaza Crisis: What Next for Fatah and Hamas?" [in Arabic]. SD 44, no. 172 (Apr. 08): 136-39.
Legrain, Jean-François. "La dynamique de la 'guerre civile' en Palestine." Critique Internationale, no. 36 (Jul.-Sep. 07): 147-65.
Lewis, Frank D. "Compensation and the Abandoned Property of the 1948 Palestinian Refugees: Assessment and Implications." Explorations in Economic History 44, no. 4 (Oct. 07): 520-37.
Lybarger, Loren D. "For Church or Nation? Islamism, Secular-Nationalism, and the Transformation of Christian Identities in Palestine." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 75, no. 4 (Dec. 07): 777-813.
Mavroudi, Elizabeth. "Palestinians and Pragmatic Citizenship: Negotiating Relationships between Citizenship and National Identity in Diaspora." Geoforum 38, no. 1 (Jan. 08): 307-18.
Oliver, Kelly. "Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers: 'Débâcles amoureuses'?" Nottingham French Studies 46, no. 3 (Aut. 07): 17-31.
Rabinowitz, Dan, and Daniel Monterescu. "Reconfiguring the 'Mixed Town': Urban Transformations of Ethnonational Relations in Palestine and Israel." IJMES 40, no. 2 (May 08): 195-226.
Robinson, Glenn E. "The Fragmentation of Palestine." Current History 107, no. 704 (Dec. 07): 421-26.
Sa‘ar, Amalia. "Contradictory Location: Assessing the Position of Palestinian Women Citizens of Israel." JMEWS 3, no. 3 (Fall 07): 45-74.
---. "Maneuvering between State, Nation, and Tradition: Palestinian Women in Israel Make Creative Applications of Polygyny." Journal of Anthropological Research 63, no. 4 (Win. 07): 515-36.
al-Sa`ed, Rashed. "Sustainability of Natural and Mechanized Aerated Ponds for Domestic and Municipal Wastewater Treatment in Palestine." Water International 32, no. 2 (Jun. 07): 310-24.
Sakkar, Michel. "Palestine: le Hamas après le coup d'état de Gaza." CM, no. 64 (Win. 07): 147-54.
Samuel, S., and C. Rajiv. "The Hamas Takeover and its Aftermath." Strategic Analysis 31, no. 5 (Sep. 07): 843-51.
Sayigh, Rosemary. "Product and Producer of Palestinian History: Stereotypes of 'Self' in Camp Women's Life Stories." JMEWS 3, no. 2 (Win. 07): 86-105.
Signoles, Aude. "Le Hamas, des islamistes au pouvoir." Maghreb-Machrek, no. 194 (08): 39-54.