Israel's Occupation

by Neve Gordon

This first complete history of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip allows us to see beyond the smoke screen of politics in order to make sense of the dramatic changes that have developed on the ground over the past forty years. Looking at a wide range of topics, from control of water and electricity to health care and education as well as surveillance and torture, Neve Gordon's panoramic account reveals a fundamental shift from a politics of life―when, for instance, Israel helped Palestinians plant more than six-hundred thousand trees in Gaza and provided farmers with improved varieties of seeds―to a macabre politics characterized by an increasing number of deaths. Drawing attention to the interactions, excesses, and contradictions created by the forms of control used in the Occupied Territories, Gordon argues that the occupation's very structure, rather than the policy choices of the Israeli government or the actions of various Palestinian political factions, has led to this radical shift.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Israel, Middle East, School

342 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Neve Gordon is Professor of Human Rights and the Politics of Humanitarian Law at Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of Israel’s Occupation and coauthor of The Human Right to Dominate.

Reviews

[Kristofer Petersen-Overton]

A nice use of Foucauldian theory to help understand Israel's use of both sovereign/disciplinary power and bio-power in its elaborate network of control in the occupied territories.

[meowa]

Really great materialist look at Israel’s occupation - the use of Foucault and the analysis of change in population management are especially great. Not a difficult read though does read like a history/ textbook.

[Kassidy Wheeler]

you will understand why israel is an apartheid state after this one.

[Shay]

Really strong analysis of the tactics of the occupation, but somewhat limited by the author's anxieties to not appear anti-Zionist or pro-resistance.

[Giorgio Palumbo]

necessario