THE POWER OF MASS NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE IN PALESTINE – PART 3

Prior to the First Intifada, Palestinians in the Occupied Territories (OPT) seemed, in the eyes of foreign observers, “too intimidated, divided, and politically suppressed to ever develop a coherent alternative leadership”[1] while the international resonance of the Palestinian cause was at a historic low. The “focus of attention in the Middle East is shifting,” reported…

“NO COUNTRY SHOULD BE UNDER SIEGE LIKE THAT”

So insisted US Secretary of State John Kerry this week, referring of course to the illegal siege of Gaza Israel: Israelis have a right to defend themselves against any violence that is attacking innocent people with a knife in the Old City, in Jerusalem or elsewhere. No country should be under siege like that, and the Palestinians need…

GAZA: DESTROYING A PEOPLE

'There is a great deal of ruin in a nation', wrote Adam Smith in 1782. It is not so easy to destroy one. The World Bank's latest Economic Monitoring report on the West Bank and Gaza, and in particular the section entitled, The Staggering Cost of Violence and Blockade on Gaza's Economy and Living Standards,…

GAZA EXPORTS

Source: Gisha, 'A costly divide: economic repercussions of separating Gaza and the West Bank' (February 2015), p. 7.

ENDING COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT IS NOT CONDITIONAL (UPDATED)

A concerted effort is underway to render the lifting of the Gaza blockade conditional on Hamas's disarmament.* In the UK, this is the central message of a new campaign by Labour Friends of Israel (LFI). During a debate in parliament yesterday, LFI vice-chair Michael McCann MP was emphatic: The international community needs to put an end to…