Internal displacement and humanitarian situation in the. Confronting the reality of power in palestine1 the occupied palestinian territory opt is among the most aid dependent aid measured as a percentage of gross national income of all regions in the world reaching 49% in 2002. Gaza and the palestinianisraeli conflict and the gaza strip. The role of the tunnel economy in redeveloping gaza. The economy of the gaza strip is severely hampered by egypt and israels almost total blockade, the high population density, limited land access, strict internal and external security controls, the effects of israeli military operations, and restrictions on labor and trade access across the border. In gaza as metaphor, edited by dina matar and helga tawilsouri, 225231. Such institutions, operating in gaza and the west bank. Yet under the oslo accords, israel retains military control of 42% of the gaza strip, most of it reserved for 6,000. Dedevelopment and underdevelopment dedevelopment is perhaps best understood when compared to underdevelopment.
The first encapsulates the political economy of occupationrelated policies. Targeting infrastructure and livelihoods in the west bank. Political economist sara roy has described the result as dedevelopment. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. According to roy, dedevelopment is expressed in policies purposely designed to.
The continued innerpalestinian political stalemate. Ultimately, the drivers of vulnerability have political root causes, which directly result in humanitarian needs and require engagement from actors outside humanitarian action to resolve. The volume brings together cuttingedge political economy analyses of the palestinian people. Since the 1967 arabisraeli war, the economy of the west bank and gaza. Gaza was part of the ottoman empire, before it was occupied by the united kingdom 19181948, egypt 19481967, and then israel, which in 1994 granted the palestinian authority in gaza limited selfgovernance through the oslo accords. Decolonizing palestinian political economy dedevelopment and. Hamas and civil society in gaza illustrates the fact that the palestinian islamist movement, especially in gaza, is defined not only by politicalmilitary organizations such as hamas but also by a range of social service institutions, many with a long history in the area p. Hamas and civil society in gaza by sara roy overdrive. It gives a complete comprehensive and detailed fact list about the entire occupation and settlement story of the gaza strip. The impact of the war was devastating for the pales tinian economy as a whole, but particularly for the more impoverished econ omy of the gaza strip where such external sources of revenue constituted at least 50 percent of the gnp.
All investment in the gaza strip must be underpinned by a commitment to advocacy to address the root causes of poverty and injustice, particularly the. Since 1971, the journal of palestine studies jps has been the leading quarterly devoted exclusively to the arabisraeli conflict and palestinian affairs. Hamas and civil society in gaza princeton university press. She formulates the term dedevelopment which unlike underdevelopment is a process. She formulates the term dedevelopment which unlike underdevelopment is a process that the israeli government imposed on the palestinians in gaza where it practically destroyed the entire economy.
Gaza strip, which took place during the conflict in july and august 2014, sent the palestinian economy into its first recession since 2006. After years of decline, economic growth in gaza is now on the rise, boosted by foreign aid. This book examines the political development and transformation of hamas from a resistance movement into a political authority in the gaza strip, as a result of the groups victory in the. That war, which resulted in israels defeat of three arab armies and its occupation of the west bank, gaza strip, the sinai peninsula, and the golan heights, transformed the politics of the middle east. As in the west bank, the israeli government was solely responsible for infrastructural decisions. The report aims to illustrate how occupationrelated policies have made it impossible to establish a sovereign, functioning economy by investigating the underlying economic mechanisms which ultimately led to a state of dependency, structural distortion, and dedevelopment. Roy explains is a policy that is designed to insure that there is no economic base for the indigenous population.
It is a mustread for those who wish to understand the historical origins. Turner mandy and shweiki omar editors, decolonizing. Sara roy who is regarded as the leading academic authority on the gaza strip from harvard university, writes a comprehensive study on the political economy of the gaza strip during the post 1st intifada and early years of oslo. Based on sara roys extensive fieldwork in the gaza strip and west bank during the critical period of the oslo peace process, hamas and civil society in gaza shows how the social service activities sponsored by the islamist group emphasized not political violence but. Since its occupation of the west bank, including east jerusalem, and gaza strip in 1967, israel has imposed numerous military and economic measures that have affected all sectors of the palestinian economy, resulting in longterm economic disequilibria and, in some cases, irreversible dedevelopment. Both processes describe a structural relationship between sara roy, a research associate at the center for middle eastern studies, harvard university, is the author of several books, including the gaza strip. Th e political economy of dedevelopment, expanded third edition washington, dc. Roy is also the author of the gaza strip survey 1986 and the gaza strip. But visiting the occupied palestinian territories in november, including two days in gaza, underlined for me. In 2007, when the hamas government took control of the gaza strip, israel has enforced an unparalleled blockade on gaza strip from land, sea and air. It further argues that this reconfiguration of gazas economic systems spurred growth, to the point where the concept dedevelopment requires revisiting when applied to the gazan economy until general abdel fatah alsisi took power in egypt in july 20, overthrew its muslim brotherhood president, mohammed almorsi, and as part of his. Unlike the west bank, the gaza strip is entirely surrounded on land by an israelicontrolled security fence.
Economic and food security sefsec survey report 2 gaza strip november 2009 data collected by the palestinian central bureau of statistics april june 2009. Comprehensive analysis of current developments in the peace process as well as a range of articles from the latest historical. The political economy of dedevelopment 1995, 2001, 2004, and 2016. The dominant party israel is not only disrupting the economy of the dominated party palestine, but. The hamas party won the palestinian legislative elections on 25 january 2006.
According to the international monetary fund, the economy grew 20 percent in 2011, and the per capita gross domestic product increased by 19 percent. The political economy of dedevelopment sara roy on. Her 2011 study of hamas, political islam and the islamic social sector in gaza won a 2012 britishkuwait friendship society prize. Country of origin information on the situation in the gaza. Bank and gaza strip, those living within israel, and refugees in arab states. The political economy of dedevelopment, by sara roy. At no point was this need ever produced by a competitive labor market. During the 1990s, international donors committed billions of dollars to the government of israel and the palestinian authority pa in order to sustain and further promote the peace process. The volume brings together cuttingedge political economy analyses of the. For the firsttime, roy examines the past 15years in gaza in detail using economic theory and indepth political analysis to argue that the dedevelopment of gaza is leading to unviability.
Many consider israels blockade to be on very shaky legal ground. The gazajericho agreement of september 1993 caught the author, like most others, by surprise, and she remains skeptical that it will allow palestinians to gain control over their economic future. Socio economic and food security assessment in the gaza. Youth in the west bank and gaza strip grow up in the shadow of a political conflict that dominates their economic lives. Internal displacement and humanitarian situation in the gaza strip november 2015 the following provides a factual overview of the humanitarian situation in the gaza strip, based on publicly available sources noting 1that unhcr does not have a presence in the gaza strip. She is the editor of the economics of middle east peace. This document is based on information available up to 15 november 2015. The political economy of dedevelopment is the final edition of her much anticipated, comprehensive study of the economy of gaza. However, these benefits must be viewed within the wider social, political, and economic context of the occupation itself in order to determine the.
Kirsty hughes is head of oxfam gb advocacy and policy team in a week when us efforts to promote peace talks between israelis and palestinians have collapsed, an optimistic way ahead to a political deal looks hard to see. At the same time, the war and its aftermath induced the emergence of the palestinian resistance movement, which subsequently led to the consolidation of the plo as the representative of palestinian national aspirations. Between the palestinian authority and palestinian civil. Israeli policy makers blocked economic development in the west bank and gaza with the explicit intent of depressing wages, reinforcing dependency, and perpetuating poverty. The economy of gaza city was dependent on small industries and agriculture. Economic and food security assessment in the gaza strip wfpfao november 2009 1 socio. Jps provides an international forum for study of the region and peaceful resolution to the conflict. Dedevelopment and beyond, edited by mandy turner and omar shweiki, 200219. The hamas administration is often referred to as the hamas government in gaza. Gaza strip although the august 2014 ceasefire between israel and palestinian armed groups continues to hold, the. Its status in the west bank and gaza is widely viewed as a belligerent occupation, despite the 2005 disengagement. In this groundbreaking and comprehensive study, sara roy examines in detail the political economy of the gaza strip since the israeli occupation in 1967.
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