Except for Palestine by Marc Lamont Hill

Author:Marc Lamont Hill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The New Press
Published: 2021-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

In March 2013, Amani’s husband returned to their home in the West Bank. She says, “Since then I have submitted about twenty requests for permits and haven’t succeeded in getting a single one. My husband and I have been separated against our will for four years, because of the permit issue. My husband is in one city and the children and I are in another. We’re in contact by mobile phone and online. The children cry and want to go to their father, and I’m emotionally drained because of the distance from my husband and my home.” 52

Amani’s story is far from unique. The initiation of the Oslo process, the Second Intifada that began in late 2000, Israel’s removal of its settlements from Gaza and the resulting total isolation of the Strip, and each successive round of fighting in Gaza all made the situation worse, on both personal and large-scale levels. The barrier surrounding Gaza, which would soon be mimicked by one inside the West Bank, placed Gazans at the mercy of those who were keeping them within the barrier. Egypt and Israel, along with the West Bank, were the primary markets for Gazan exports and, despite the withdrawal of its settlements and soldiers, Israel maintained control over Gaza’s airspace and coastline. Gaza also remained dependent on Israel for water and electricity.53 These facts formed the basis for the widely held position that Gaza remains under Israeli occupation to this day.54

On January 25, 2006, the first Palestinian legislative elections since 1996 were held. This time, Hamas decided to run for seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council.55 Elgindy writes: “Having concluded that the Oslo paradigm was dead, Hamas leaders no longer sought to replace the PLO or the PA, but would now work within the existing political structures to reorganize Palestinian politics.” 56 Israel pressed for Hamas to be barred from the election until its leaders agreed to “recognize” Israel as the PLO had. But Abbas argued that keeping Hamas from running would undermine the legitimacy of the election.

At this point, the Bush administration was struggling to maintain any notion of legitimacy about the Iraq War. With the excuse of weapons of mass destruction no longer viable, the war was now being justified as an effort to spread democracy to the beleaguered Iraqi people. This logic undoubtedly informed the U.S. decision to support Abbas’s position.

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