MER Article From the Editors (March-April 1989) For well over a year now, the Israeli state has confronted the Palestinian uprising with what Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin calls “the iron fist.” The army’s goal is to restore order, Deputy Chief-of-Staff Ehud Barak said recently, “so that the Israeli government can pursue political initiatives fr The Editors • 2 min read
MER Article Economic Dimensions of the Uprising Beyond the cameras, outside the glare of the kleig lights of television talk shows, a quiet but potentially very significant campaign for economic disengagement is developing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. From the Boston Tea Party to Gandhi’s Salt March, struggles over economic issues have histo Sheila Ryan • 11 min read
MER Article Points of Stress Eight months into the intifada, Israel’s occupation appears as unyielding as the rocky hills of Palestine. Bolstered by arms and funds from the United States and supported by a rightward-leaning public, the Israeli political establishment stands utterly intransigent, opposed to any political comprom James Paul • 14 min read
MER Article The Significance of Stones Visitors to the West Bank and Gaza get a very immediate, sensory grasp of the significance of stones. In the West Bank, the main cities and towns and many larger villages lie along the ridge of hills and plateaus running north to south and forming a sort of geological spine between the Mediterranean Joe Stork • 21 min read
MER Article "Something Was in the Air All of 1987" Mahmoud and Naji, both in their early twenties, are full-time participants in the uprising. Both were politically active before the uprising and, in addition to joining demonstrations, they play leading roles in local neighborhood committees. Both are college students. Mahmoud majors in civil engine Beshara Doumani • 5 min read
MER Article "When the Rest Is Quiet, There Is Revolution in Dahaysha" We enter Dahaysha through one of several gates, past rusted oil drums piled high in a stockade and a chain-link barbed-wire fence that residents keep tearing down. The alleyways are quiet; people must be inside. M. takes us to the home of his friend A., 27, a business student at Bethlehem Universit Melissa Baumann • 6 min read
MER Article Uprising in Gaza One year before the Palestinian mass uprising began, the writing was on the grey cement walls of refugee camp houses in Gaza, where you could read the anguish of Gaza camp residents at the spectacle of the Amal militia bombarding Palestinians in the camps in Lebanon. These attacks forged a real unit Anita Vitullo Khoury • 11 min read
MER Article Gaza Diary FEBRUARY 7, 1988, MORNING “Welcome to Gaza,” the sign reads, but the streets are not inviting. The long road into town is nearly deserted, its shops and shanties locked shut; only a few men gather sporadically for coffee or a cigarette. Beyond, the camps stretch toward the sea like a giant junkyard Melissa Baumann • 14 min read
MER Article Morning in Ramallah Military Court The main street was completely deserted on the way to Ramallah Military Headquarters the morning of February 25. It was the second day of a general strike called for in the eighth statement by the United National Leadership to protest the visit of Secretary of State George Shultz. Few people were ev Lee OBrien, Penny Johnson • 2 min read
MER Article The West Bank Rises Up Ramallah’s landscape this February 21 has overtones of a war zone. Residents have dismantled the ancient stone wall across the street for a series of barricades. The smoke of a burning tire rises in the clear early afternoon air over nearby al-Am‘ari refugee camp and army flares light the camp at ni Lee OBrien, Penny Johnson • 20 min read
MER Article Primer: Israel's Military Regime Since 1967 Israel has operated a military regime in the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank. In 1981 Israel set up a civilian administration as a separate branch of the military government. This further integrated these territories into Israel’s administrative and legal infrastructure. Lisa Hajjar • 3 min read
MER Article Human Rights and the Politics of Computer Software Once the exclusive province of supranational bodies like the UN and small independent watchdog organizations like Amnesty International, concern for human rights has blossomed. Existing institutions have grown, expanding their scope and stepping up their activities, while a new generation of human r Joost Hiltermann • 6 min read
