Palestinian Resistance Research Articles

Evolution of the International Movement Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions – BDS

The article describes insight into the factors and conditions influencing the formation of the international movement BDS including its key subjects and its most effective strategies for achieving all the goals identified. From the authors’ point of view Israel itself, by its extremely cruel and asymmetric measures against the Palestinian resistance to occupation during the second intifada stimulated the rise of the BDS movement popularity and as well as anti-Israeli tendencies in Western democracies. Another, no less important reason for the formation of the BDS is the failure of the peace process for the solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in accordance with the agreements reached in Oslo. Under these complicated circumstances, Palestinian Arab civil society has called on the international community to end the Israeli occupation. The study provided a thorough overview of the main financial sources of the movement. The use of funds from the EU community budget, national budgets of a number of Western states, the largest charitable foundations, etc. is stated. The authors analyze the reasons for the popularity of the movement at the beginning of the 21st century, including in some structural divisions of the UN and the European Union. Special attention is focusing on measures to counter the movement by Israel, the US and some European states. In the conclusion, the study identifies and characterizes the current status of the movement, which is steadily losing its adherents at all levels, including academic and confessional spheres.

Dynamics of the arab countries' involvement to the israeli-palestinian peace process (1967–2002)

The paper presents an analysis of the evolution of the Arab countries` involvement to the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The research was carried out through a historical analysis of the Israeli-Egyptian peace accords, the Madrid peace conference, the Oslo Process, the Israeli-Jordan peace agreements, and the Arab peace initiative. The author presents the gradual evolution of the Arab countries position to the Palestinian issue from the absolute non-recognition of Israel and open enmity to the end of the boycott and to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel. The author also identifies the causes and the consequences of this change in the approach of the Arab countries. Results show that the main reason was the weakening of the USSR and its collapse, which predetermined the need for Arab countries to seek a new source of support in the face of the United States. Moreover, the importance of the Palestinian problem decreases for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while influence of the economic factor and security issues increases. Other Arab countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan do not have sufficient resources to defend their position on Palestine. Another important factor is the destruction of the united Arab position, and the decline in the popularity of the concept of pan-Arabism. The author concludes that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict ceases to be a stumbling block for resolving the larger Arab-Israeli conflict, and becomes a bargaining chip. Thus, it can be assumed that even with the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process the participation of Arab countries in it will be comparably formal. While a gradual rapprochement of Israel with its neighbor countries, the conflict will continue to evolve spontaneously with regular cases of Palestinian resistance until the irrevocable Israeli occupation is over.

Tareq Baconi. Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance.

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JPS “Hidden Gems” and “Greatest Hits”: The Law and Palestine

This essay examines JPS’s fifty-year archive of law-related content from the prism of its contribution to the author’s own thinking (and writing) about the relationship between law and politics in the context of the Palestinian question. Noura Erakat identifies as a “greatest hit” Hanna Dib Nakkara’s “Israeli Land Seizure under Various Defense and Emergency Regulations” (1985) for its meticulous documentation of the Israeli legal regime established to confiscate Palestinian lands. Erakat’s “hidden gem” is “Juridical Characteristics of Palestinian Resistance: An Appraisal in Law,” coauthored by W. T. Jr. and S. V. Mallison. Published in 1973, the article argues for the treatment of captured fedayeen as prisoners of war four years prior to the amendment of the Geneva Convention recognizing national liberation struggles as international conflicts.

A Pandemic in an Age of Omnipresent Sovereign Power: The Plight of Palestine

The essay focuses on three features of the COVID-19 pandemic in Palestine, each highlighting one of the interconnected dimensions of settler colonial sovereign power. First is the governance of life, where every aspect of Palestinian life is governed through population lockdowns. Second is the control over death, where the infected Palestinian body is disposed and discarded away from the Israeli scene. Third is the rule across life and death, where the Palestinian body is marked for debilitation in order to restrict the resistance of the Palestinian body. The essay concludes with some remarks on Palestinian resistance.

Resistance Literature and Occupied Palestine in Cold War Beirut

For the last decade of his life, the Palestinian intellectual, author, and editor Ghassan Kanafani (d. 1972) was deeply immersed in theorizing, lecturing, and publishing on Palestinian resistance literature from Beirut. A refugee of the 1948 war, Kanafani presented his theory of resistance literature and the notion of “cultural siege” at the March 1967 Beirut conference of the Soviet-funded Afro-Asian Writers Association (AAWA). Articulated in resistance to Zionist propaganda literature and in solidarity with Marxist-Leninist revolutionary struggles in the Third World, Kanafani was inspired by Maxim Gorky, William Faulkner, and Mao Zedong alike. In books, essays, and lectures, Kanafani argued that Zionist propaganda literature served as a “weapon” in the war against Palestine, returning repeatedly to Arthur Koestler’s 1946 Thieves in the Night. Better known for his critique of Stalinism in Darkness at Noon (1940), Koestler was also actively involved in waging cultural Cold War, writing the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Congress for Cultural Freedom 1950 manifesto and helping the organization infiltrate Afro-Asian writing in the wake of Bandung. Kanafani’s 1960s theory of resistance literature thus responded at once to the psychological dislocation of Zionist propaganda fiction and the cultural infiltration of Arabic literature in the Cold War.

Framing the wall: The Palestinian resistance against the occupation in Five Broken Cameras (2011)

This paper looks at the documentary Five Broken Cameras (Palestine, Israel, France, Netherlands, 2011) to discuss the temporal implications of a quotidian under occupation. More specifically, the investigation casts light over the peaceful resistance against the Israeli wall in the Palestinian village of Bil’in portrayed by the lenses of Emad Burnat, a Palestinian villager who becomes the village´s filmmaker after the acquisition of his first camera. Upon the analysis, I claim that in the context of the Palestinian struggle, cinema is both an integral part of the resistance and an instrument to structure the experience of time in an area fragmented by the occupation.

It Changed My Sympathy, Not My Opinion: Alternative Jewish Tourism to the Occupied Palestinian Territories

ABSTRACT The deployment of tourism to strengthen diaspora support for homeland countries is well documented; however, there is a dearth of research on the use of tourism to complicate diasporic allegiances. With more American Jews visiting sites in Israel/Palestine that challenge dominant Zionist narratives, Jewish tourism to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) offers a lens into this growing field of critical diaspora tourism. The sample for this study is made up of young Jewish Americans who were deeply saturated in mainstream Israeli narratives prior to their participation in an alternative tour. This case study provides a lens to examine how Jewish Americans relate to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how experiences that confront them with Palestinian narratives intervene in their political views and diasporic identities, revealing that the socializing power of participants’ upbringings and the emotional, corporeal experiences on tours such as Birthright limit the potential of alternative tours to spark radical, political transformations. Even though alternative tours stand in direct contrast to mainstream Israeli tourism, orientalist tropes still seep into participants’ interpretations of Palestinian sites and narratives. As a result, even participants with newfound sympathy toward Palestinians will often continue to understand Palestinian resistance as a disruption of Israel’s legitimate power.

عملیة میونخ (أقریت وکفر برعم*) سبتمبر 1972م

عملیة میونخ (أقریت وکفر برعم*) سبتمبر 1972م

Palestinian Non-Violent Resistance and the Apartheid Analogy

Israel/Palestine is a context in which the term “apartheid” keeps reappearing. As a historical analogy and cultural shorthand, it functions as a powerful Palestinian weapon when used to describe Israeli policy and actions in what amounts to a battle of narratives in the international arena. For a long time, Palestinians have been known primarily for their violent struggle, but employing loaded vocabulary to depict their lives and experiences under Israeli control is more than just using a certain word, it is a strategic choice. The earliest uses of the apartheid analogy have long been placed in the 1970s, however, evidence of its use can already be found before the United Nation’s General Assembly declared apartheid a crime in 1973. The first instances happened simultaneously with the development of the organized Palestinian national movement in the 1960s. Focusing on Fayez Sayegh (1922–1980), an academic and UN special rapporteur to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, I argue such historical analogies need to be read as a non-violent tactic of resistance within the Palestinian struggle. Sayegh was almost singlehandedly responsible for introducing the apartheid analogy at the United Nations – my primary contextual interest. His analyses of racial segregation, however, were thoroughly countered, making his engagement for Palestine seem like a failure. And yet his early attempts to bring the apartheid analogy into wide circulation, along with the increasingly more complicated situation on the ground, show results. Today, the term has become common usage in describing Israel and puts enormous pressure on the country. The spread of the apartheid analogy shows that non-violent forms of Palestinian resistance, which in the 1960s and 1970s were almost invisible internationally, long existed.

Poesia como expressão de solidariedade nacional e consciência política

Neste artigo, traduzimos poemas dos poetas palestinos Tawfiq Zayyad (1929-1994), Ahmad Dahbur (1946-2017) e Khairi Mansur (1945-2018). A tradução busca preservar os sentidos originais dos poemas ao mesmo tempo em que se propõe poética, para que o resultado sejam poemas também em português. Os poemas trazem imagens da resistência palestina, na forma da permanência no território palestino ocupado ou na nota que destaca a opressão nos países do exílio. Ao mesmo tempo em que fazem o leitor sentir a solidão e a privação, acentuam o amor e a fé encorajante desse povo.

Cultural resistance in occupied Palestine and the use of creative international solidarity through song1

Protest song has been an important component of grassroots political struggles, and the Palestinian resistance to Zionist settler-colonization is no exception. This article draws on original research with activists in the Palestinian popular resistance on the impact of song during the first intifada (1987 to 1993) and more recently in the opposition to the segregation wall and accelerated colonization of the West Bank. The significance of international solidarity to the Palestinian struggle is noted, and the role of protest song in international solidarity is explored. The activities of Edinburgh-based community choir San Ghanny in using song as an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian popular anti-colonial struggle is analysed. Protest song is a globally recognizable form, which can help to build connections with social movements in different parts of the world and in different periods of history, which is both rooted in individual places and struggles, and also transcends these at the level of global solidarity.

Murabitat al-Aqsa: the new virgins of Palestinian resistance

In the fall of 2015, Israel outlawed the Murabitat, a group of Palestinian Muslim women using their voices and bodies to protect al-Aqsa Mosque from right-wing Jewish incursions into the sacred site. Israel placed blame on the Islamic Movement of Israel, but this explanation lacks substantially. I argue, instead, that the better way to interpret the Murabitat is by focusing on the Murabitat themselves—how they understood their actions and how those actions related to broader social, political, and religious currents within Palestinian society and the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Murabitat demonstrated both continuity and innovation within the field of Palestinian women’s political participation in resistance toward the Israeli occupation. They framed their resistance in well-established, domestic and non-violent terms. But they also innovated by mobilizing these themes for the specific purpose of protecting the Haram al-Sharif. Drawing together the latent, symbolic resonance of ribat language within the discursive tradition of Islam, articulating their attachment to the sacred space through domestic metaphors, and using the phrase “Allahu Akbar” as a ritual of protest, the Murabitat forged new possibilities for women’s participation in political struggle in Palestine. In short, they became the new virgins of the Palestinian resistance.

Performative communication: Palestinian resistance, hip-hop and cyberspace performances

ABSTRACT This study addresses communicative performances of Palestinian resistance through hip-hop as sites of resistance across the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Through theorizing cultural sites of performance, the author reflects four domains of resistance within Palestinian hip-hop while simultaneously weaving in her own performative voice. Thus, the goal is to create global connections and communication through performance with both the diasporic Palestinian population and Palestinians living inside Palestine in relation to larger dominant structures.

The Palestinian Resistance: Nonviolent Praxis in a Gramscian Paradigm

This article analyses the praxis of nonviolent resistance in Palestine through the lens of Gramsci. First, it begins with a historical inquiry into the major phenomena of the Palestinian resistance tradition. Its nonviolent expressions are highlighted in order to prove their continuity as well as their effectiveness, focusing on three uprisings of the national movement where this form of resistance was deployed: the Arab revolt, the First Intifada, and the Al Aqsa Intifada. Then, it presents the framework of the theoretical tradition of nonviolent struggle in order to interpret Palestinian popular resistance actions and strategies. Finally, these forms of resistance are embedded, and subsumed, in a Gramscian alternative hegemonic paradigm, so as to enhance the discussion around an organic nonviolent strategy of political resistance.

Beytülmakdis Şehrindeki Filistin Direnişine Halk Desteği 1987-2019

تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تسليط الضوء على الحاضنة الشعبية للمقاومة الفلسطينية في مدينة بيت المقدس، باعتبارها تشكل الدفيئة الحقيقية والظهير الشعبي، الذي يساند المقاومة ويحميها ويرعاها منذ اندلاع ثورات وانتفاضات الشعب الفلسطيني في الماضي وصولا إلى الحاضر. في هذه الدراسة سيتم تناول مفهوم الحاضنة الشعبية، ودورها في استمرار العمل المقاوم، وأهميتها في بلوغ المقاومة الفلسطينية لأهدافها الوطنية. وسيتم كذلك تناول أهم السياسات الإسرائيلية التي دأبت عليها حكومات الاحتلال منذ عام 1948، والتي كانت ترمي إلى تغييب دور الحاضنة الشعبية، وتحييدها عن دعم المقاومة عبر إشغال هذه الحاضنة بنفسها والعمل على إفسادها. بعد ذلك ستلقي هذه الدراسة الضوء على المرحلة الممتدة ما بعد اندلاع انتفاضة الحجارة في عام 1987 وحتى يومنا هذا، باعتبار أن هذه الانتفاضة تمثل مرحلة مهمة في تاريخ الشعب الفلسطيني، لمدى تأثيرها على إعادة انبعاث الحاضنة الشعبية بعد فشل السياسات الإسرائيلية في تغييبها عن أداء دورها. وسيتم كذلك إلقاء الضوء عن أشكال التفاف الحاضنة الشعبية مع المقاومة الفلسطينية، وما هي وسائل الضغط المستمرة التي تقوم بها سلطات الاحتلال على الحاضنة الشعبية في مدينة بيت المقدس بهدف خنقها والتضييق عليها. وفي ختام هذه الدراسة سنخلص إلى أهم التوصيات التي تتعلق بتفعيل دور الحاضنة الشعبية وضمان الحفاظ عليها وعدم تآكلها

Tunnels of Palestinian Resistance and Their Impact on Israeli Occupation

Tunnels of Palestinian Resistance and Their Impact on Israeli Occupation

Palestinian education and the ‘logic of elimination’

ABSTRACT Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories has sought to, and continues to, influence the Palestinian education system in a number of ways. In this article I seek to demonstrate that these interventions should be conceptualized and theorized as an extension of the ‘logic of elimination’ that Patrick Wolfe has previously ascribed to settler colonialism. 1 These specific interventions in the educational field, I suggest, should be understood in the wider context of the Israeli colonialist project. In engaging with the development of the Palestinian education system in the post-1967 period, this article traces direct and indirect forms of educational influence and sketches the outlines of Palestinian resistance.

Hamas, the Islamic Wing of Palestinian Resistance: Its Roots, Characteristics, and Way of Politics

Hamas is an organization that has blended the historical and ideological legacy of Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) that has spread all over the Arab world with the sui generis living characteristics of the Palestinian people. Having such legacy and characteristics, Hamas has been considering Palestinian resistance as a religious obligation and struggling against Israel in the front line stating that the occupied territories cannot be abandoned since the day it emerged in 1987. The group has become one of the principal actors regarding the Palestinian question. Hence, Hamas has been one of the most significant non-state actors in the region. From this point, this study first addresses the Ikhwan past of Hamas. Then, the sui generis living conditions of Palestine under occupation that produced Hamas are scrutinized. Meanwhile, the study clarifies the organizational structure and main features of Hamas by paying attention to its rivalry with Fatah.

Forging beginnings: Commemorative cultures and the politics of the “First Aliyah”

ABSTRACT This article argues that the “First Aliyah,” associated with the private agricultural colonies (moshavot) of the late nineteenth century and long studied primarily in its pre-World War I context, must be studied as a mandate and early state-era retrospective creation. It was forged during a period of Labor Zionist hegemony and in light of Palestinian resistance and rising Jewish immigration. In promoting their own past past, local landowners and private agriculturalists attempted to invert accusations of ideological poverty, economic exploitation, and inefficacy to present the founding generation as models of pragmatism, hierarchical coexistence with Palestinian laborers, and apoliticism. It further suggests the importance of localized and class-specific Zionist memory and the utility of thinking of these cultural formations as a place-specific variant not only of ethnonational memory, but also of settler memory.