"The widely held assumption that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is a temporary situation and that the 'peace process' will soon bring an end to Israeli abuses has obscured the reality on the ground today of Israel's entrenched discriminatory rule over Palestinians. A single authority, the Israeli government, rules primarily over the area between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, populated by two groups of roughly equal size, methodologically privileging Jewish Israelis while repressing Palestinians, most severely in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), made-up of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Drawing on years of human rights documentation, case studies and a review of government planning documents, statements by officials and other sources, [this report] examines Israel's treatment of Palestinians and evaluates whether particular Israeli policies and practices in certain areas amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution."--Page 4 of cover.

A powerful, searing story of a divided city - where one boy strays on to the wrong side of the wall, and finds his life changed for ever . . .

What is the purpose of the West Bank Wall? Since Israel began its construction in 2002, it has sparked intense debate, being condemned as illegal by the International Court of Justice. Israel claims it is a security measure to protect Israeli citizens from terrorist attacks. Opponents point to the serious impact on the rights of Palestinians, depriving them of their land, mobility and access to health and educational services. In The West Bank Wall, Dolphin explores the Palestinian experience of the Wall and places the debate in its international context. Dolphin's writing is informed by his work for the UN, where for three years he monitored and compiled reports on the Wall's impact on the humanitarian conditions in refugee camps, towns and villages. With an introduction by Graham Usher, who has worked as Palestine correspondent for major international publications including the Economist, Middle East International, al Ahram English Weekly, the Guardian and Le Monde Diplomatique, this book puts the purpose of the Wall to the test. What are the real intentions behind the Israeli security argument? Is it a means of securing territory permanently through an illegal annexation of East Jerusalem? Ray Dolphin provides some answers, offering a unique critical account of the impact of the wall and how it affects plans for a Palestinian state and for future peace in the Middle East.

How can irregular political situations, which impact the lives of millions, become normalized? Specifically, within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, how can 50 years of Israeli control over the Occupied Territories become accepted within Israeli society as a normal, possibly even banal phenomenon? Conversely, how can such a situation be estranged from daily reality, denied any relation to who "we" are? This volume explores these questions through the lens of two central discourses that dominate the Israeli debate regarding the future of the Occupied Territories: 1) Occupation Normalization Discourse, which portrays Israeli control of the territories as a "normal" part of life; 2) Occupation Estrangement Discourse, which portrays this situation as distant from Israeli reality. In addressing these discourses, the authors develop a new methodological tool, Dialectic Discourse Analysis, which examines discourse as a process of perpetual positing and synthesis of oppositions through the discursive construction, differentiation and mediation of self and other. Through this approach, the authors illustrate that these discourses are dialectically constituted in opposition to one another, feeding off one another, each enabling the other to exist. This dynamic has resulted in a fixed discourse, preventing any progress towards a synthesis of oppositions.

With the images of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict so dominant in our minds, walking for leisure is the one activity probably least associated with the West Bank region. But Stefan Szepesi s book wanders well off the beaten track of Palestine as only a synonym for occupation and strife, exploring its inspiring natural and cultural landscape, its intriguing past and present, and the hospitality of its people. The book takes first-time walkers and experienced hikers, as well as armchair explorers, through Palestine's steep desert gorges, along its tiny herders trails and over its quiet dirt roads running past silver green olive groves. With side stories and anecdotes on heritage, history, culture and daily life in the West Bank, the book ventures into the traits and character of Palestine today. Beyond the 250 km of walking trails described and mapped in detail throughout the book, Walking Palestine offers a wealth of practical walking tips, including references to local guides, the West Bank s best leisure spots and countryside restaurants, and the most charming places to spend the night.

Shortlisted for the Palestine Book Awards 2017 A powerful, groundbreaking history of the Occupied Territories from one of Israel's most influential historians From the author of the bestselling study of the 1948 War of Independence comes an incisive look at the Occupied Territories, picking up the story where The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine left off. In this comprehensive exploration of one of the world’s most prolonged and tragic conflicts, Pappe uses recently declassified archival material to analyse the motivations and strategies of the generals and politicians – and the decision-making process itself – that laid the foundation of the occupation. From a survey of the legal and bureaucratic infrastructures that were put in place to control the population of over one million Palestinians, to the security mechanisms that vigorously enforced that control, Pappe paints a picture of what is to all intents and purposes the world’s largest ‘open prison’.

Ezra Schwartz, Asher Palmer, Naftali Fraenkel and others are American-Israelis or children of American-Israelis who were murdered by Palestinians in the West Bank. Where their murderers survived, they were brought to trial in the Israeli military West Bank Courts. The Palestinian side of the story is also told, including where Israeli military West Bank Courts ruled in favor of Palestinians. One central issue hanging over these twilight zone courts is how they address Palestinian terrorism against Israelis and American-Israelis. Another is trying to find a balanced truth with complex issues like dealing with Palestinian minors like Ahed Tamimi - who has rallied anti-Israel fervor across the globe -- hunger strikes and administrative detention. Justice in the West Bank? A Black, White and Gray Zone is a book and documentary project and the first-ever insider look at the West Bank justice system. It is also a balanced, human story, which follows the key legal personalities of the West Bank courts and their interactions in the high-profile cases that have come to define the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Top IDF officials signed off on special never-before-given access to the chief West Bank prosecutor Maurice Hirsch, a South African-born, England-raised Jew whose parents were arrested and forced to flee for fighting against the apartheid regime in the late 1980s. Also weighing in, is the former chief justice Aharon Mishnayot who ushered in major reforms to expand Palestinian rights as well as several of the leading Jewish, Christian and Muslim attorneys who vigorously defend the Palestinians. Through this multi-lens perspective, we see up close and personal how Israels national security needs are weighed against her responsibilities as a democracy in the most complicated and notorious recent cases. We explore the fate of several dozen Palestinians who were convicted of murder, such as the rock throwing killer of American-Israeli Palmer, were sentenced to life in prison and then were released in the landmark Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange. Some were subsequently rearrested after the notorious kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers, including American-Israeli Fraenkel, by Hamas operatives. They were arrested for their alleged links to Hamas more than for any evidence of their involvement. We see how Israel aims to reform its independent judiciary to better protect the rights of Palestinians, while the lawyers who defend Palestinians criticize the judiciary as illegal or unfair. We are reminded of whats at stake for Israel, as we walk through the gory details of several terrorist attacks and the plight of the judiciary to bring justice to the victims and their families without sacrificing Israels status as the only beacon of democracy, however imperfect, in the Middle East.

"This report documents how settlement businesses facilitate the growth and operations of settlements. These businesses depend on and contribute to the Israeli authorities' unlawful confiscation of Palestinian land and other resources. They also benefit from these violations, as well as Israel's discriminatory policies that provide privileges to settlements at the expense of Palestinians, such as access to land and water, government subsidies, and permits for developing land"--Publisher's description.

The occupation of the West Bank and Gaza has been one of the world’s most widely reported yet least understood human rights crises for over four decades. In this oral history collection, men and women from Palestine—including a fisherman, a settlement administrator, and a marathon runner—describe in their own words how their lives have been shaped by the historic crisis. Other narrators include: ABEER, a young journalist from Gaza City who launched her career by covering bombing raids on the Gaza Strip. IBTISAM, the director of a multi-faith children’s center in the West Bank whose dream of starting a similar center in Gaza has so far been hindered by border closures. GHASSAN, an Arab-Christian physics professor and activist from Bethlehem who co-founded the International Solidarity Movement. For more than six decades, Israel and Palestine have been the global focal point of intractable conflict, one that has led to one of the world’s most widely reported yet least understood human rights crises. In their own words, men and women from West Bank and Gaza describe how their lives have been shaped by the conflict. Here are stories that humanize the oft-ignored violations of human rights that occur daily in the occupied Palestinian territories.