ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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The Perpetual Problem of Palestine–Israel: A Legal Analysis

Constant violence has marred the relations between Palestine and Israel for more than six decades. Recent tensions arose due to evictions by Israeli police and the ensuing damage to a Palestinian mosque. Clashes with the public made matters worse and a ceasefire was possible only after many days of relentless bloodshed. Many term the Israeli occupation of territory as “belligerent,” especially when weighed on the scales of international and humanitarian law. It, therefore, becomes imperative to understand the conflict and subsequent actions from a legal point of view. This article tries to understand the various international laws and agreements which apply to the conflict and also aims to understand the approach of judicial bodies towards this dispute.

Violent Occupation, Unreasonable Restrictions, Collective Punishment: A Reading List on the Israel–Palestine Crisis in Gaza

Continued violence and non-recognition of basic rights have marked the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. The self-governed Gaza Strip has faced “collective punishment” and “retaliation” by Israel in response to Palestinian resistance to occupation. The international community’s failure to hold Israel to account is marked by the non-recognition of the Palestinian claims to justice.

A ‘Greater Israel’ in the Making?

Trump seems to be bent on jettisoning the “two-state solution” to the Arab–Israeli conflict.

Gaza, the Ruin

Gaza Unsilenced edited by Refaat Alareer and Laila El-Haddad, Charlottesville: Just World Books, 2015; pp 320, $21.

Gaza: A History by Jean-Pierre Filiu, New York: Oxford University Press, 2014; pp 422, Rs 2,722.98.

The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza by Max Blumenthal, New Delhi: LeftWord Books, 2015; pp XXV +261, Rs 325.

Shell-Shocked: On the Ground under Israel's Gaza Assault by Mohammed Omer, New York: OR Books, 2015; pp 304, $20.

Israel-Palestine Conflict and India's Role

From India to Palestine: Essays in Solidarity edited by Githa Hariharan; New Delhi: Left Word Publications, pp 210, Rs 350.

India and the Israeli War on Palestine

India's reaction to the latest attacks by Israel on Palestinians in the Gaza strip betrays a poor understanding of the acts of an occupying power against a colonised people.

Israeli-Palestinian Talks: A Process without Peace

Without accepting the legitimate claims of self-determination by the Palestinians and the historical injustice suffered by them, there can be no "peace" between two unequal participants in the Israel-Palestinian "peace talks". Yet, the Barack Obama-led US administration continues to insist upon a "framework" for such talks without learning the lessons of failure from earlier US-led initiatives.

Palestine: Grace under Repression

In Palestine, the word "Occupation" hits you smack between the eyes, trips you up, ties you down. You can never get enough distance between it and yourself. It is hard, when 90% of your land is under the Israelis, and only 10% can be claimed as your own - with their permission. When the colour of your Identity Card - blue for Jerusalem, green for the West Bank, brown for Gaza - determines your mobility within your own country, when there are 570 checkpoints controlled by the Israeli Defence Forces in the tiny area of the West Bank. A reflection on land, the Wall and country on the occasion of a visit to Palestine for the Palestine Literary Festival that was held between 1 and 7 May.

Mahatma Gandhi and the Pro-Israeli Lobby in the US

The recent forced resignation of Gandhi's grandson, Arun Gandhi from the M K Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence in New York brings to mind the Zionist lobby's bitter criticism of Mahatma Gandhi from a Jewish fundamentalist perspective in the 1980s.

Violence and the Palestinian Struggle

Eqbal Ahmed argued that "armed struggle was supremely unsuited to the Palestinian condition" and that "it was a mistake to put so much emphasis on it". He emphasised the principle of morally isolating the enemy and of choosing methods of struggle that would accomplish this aim. The objective was to expose the contradictions between Israel's claim to victimhood and its suppression of the Palestinians. Eqbal Ahmed spoke about his proposal a number of times to Arafat, but Arafat did nothing. The last time he visited Palestine, shortly before his death, Arafat did not even meet him.

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