Current Analysis The Palestinian Elections That Never Were January 20, 2003—the scheduled date of elections that existed on Palestinian Authority letterhead alone—passed with the incumbent presidential candidate nearly imprisoned in his offices in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Several weeks earlier, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat candidly told reporters Charmaine Seitz • 11 min read
MER Article Reading Palestine-Israel WORKS REVIEWED Gershon Shafir and Yoav Peled, Being Israeli: The Dynamics of Multiple Citizenship (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002). Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh, Birthing the Nation: Strategies of Palestinian Women in Israel (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002). Nadia Abu El-Haj, F Kaylin Goldstein • 8 min read
MER Article Learning Lessons from the Algerian War of Independece On May 9, 2002, Tony Judt, professor of history at New York University, began an essay on Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation with a quote from Raymond Aron’s book on the 1954-1962 Algerian War of Independence from French colonial rule. [1] France, Aron argued, could not impose its administ Nancy Gallagher • 12 min read
Current Analysis Building a Wall, Sealing the Occupation Yet another siege of Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah abated on September 29, as the Palestinian leader again emerged with his previously sagging popularity bolstered by confinement at the hands of Israel. Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza broke Israeli-imposed curfews on September 28 to mark the Isabelle Humphries • 7 min read
Current Analysis West Bank Curfews The Israeli F-16 strike early on July 23 that killed Hamas leader Salah Shehada and 15 Palestinian civilians in the crowded Gaza neighborhood of al-Daraj put the roiling Israeli-Palestinian conflict suddenly back in the Western headlines. It is possible, as some Western diplomats have stated to the press, that Israel Adam Hanieh • 7 min read
MER Article There Are Many Reasons Why Izz al-Din al-Masri, 23, was considered to be an ordinary fellow, until he went to Jerusalem on August 9, 2001, and blew himself up inside a pizzeria, killing 15 Israelis and injuring scores of others. The montage photo produced for his martyr poster shows him in his early twenties, a bit somber, we Lori Allen • 7 min read
MER Article Grave Breaches There are several things that strike you when first entering Jenin refugee camp: images of the Star of David spray-painted on the walls, the exposed fronts of houses which had been bulldozed, half-set tables, children’s toys scattered and then, as you approach Hawashin, a strong sweet odor. The Hawa Jamil Dakwar, Kathleen Cavanaugh • 12 min read
MER Article Postmortem of a Compassionate Checkpoint In late October 2000, the intifada was in its then bloodiest throes. In his offices in Stockholm harbor, architect Alexis Pontvik followed the news from the Middle East with growing disquiet but little surprise. What perhaps would have been his most prominent project to date had already been stowed Peter Lagerquist • 7 min read
Current Analysis Bleak Horizons After Operation Defensive Wall On April 28, both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat accepted an American proposal whereby US and British security personnel will be dispatched to Jericho to supervise the imprisonment of six Palestinians besieged with Arafat in what remains of the Ramallah governorate. Barring last-minute surprises, the Mouin Rabbani • 9 min read
Current Analysis Sparks of Activist Spirit in Egypt For a few days in October 2000, near the beginning of the second Palestinian intifada, it looked as though Egypt's student movement had finally found its voice again after years of quiescence. Students at Cairo University and other schools demonstrated daily and even clashed with security forces dur Paul Schemm • 7 min read
Current Analysis In Ramallah, Grueling Reoccupation Grinds On He was the tallest of the Palestinian policemen. Thin, his olive drab uniform ballooning over his boots, he swayed momentarily as a helmeted Israeli soldier stood behind him and tucked the muzzle of a gun into the Palestinian's right armpit, keeping his finger on the trigger. Only then did the line Charmaine Seitz • 6 min read
Current Analysis Sharon's Journey of Colors At approximately 1:00 am on March 15, 2002, Israeli military forces began withdrawing from the twin cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh in the West Bank, which they had occupied in a massive show of force three days previously. In the ensuing hours, Israel evacuated most of the other towns, Mouin Rabbani • 7 min read
