VU Research Portal Occupational Hazards Dekker, M. 2013 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Dekker, M. (2013). Occupational Hazards: Providing Human Security in the Palestinian West Bank in the context of Israeli Occupation. http://www.academia.edu/2570427/Occupational_Hazards_Providing_Human_Security_in_the_Palestinian_Wes t_Bank_in_the_Context_of_Israeli_Occupation General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 27. Sep. 2021 Occupational Hazards Providing Human Security in the Palestinian West Bank in the Context of Israeli Occupation Reading committee prof.dr. M.E. Glasius dr. A. de Jong prof.dr. G.C.A. Junne dr. W.M. Verkoren prof.dr. J.H. de Wilde © Martijn Dekker, 2013 All rights reserved. Save exception stated by law, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system of any nature, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, included a complete or partial transcription, without the prior written permission of the proprietor. Cover design and photos by Martijn Dekker Printed by Ridderprint, Ridderkerk VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT Occupational Hazards Providing Human Security in the Palestinian West Bank in the context of Israeli Occupation ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. L.M. Bouter, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen op maandag 11 maart 2013 om 13.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Martijn Dekker geboren te Haarlem promotor: prof.dr. M.J. Faber I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it. - Dwight D. Eisenhower Acknowledgements Despite the occasionally surfacing feelings of self-imposed solitude, I have obviously not embarked on the journey of writing this dissertation alone. Many people have given me a helping hand along the way and some were even kind enough to pick me up when I stumbled. The following people are amongst the most prominent of my guardian angels, although I fear that I may have forgotten to mention one or two. This is completely unintentional, so please forgive me if you don’t find your name somewhere below. First, my gratitude goes out to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Mient Jan Faber. Besides being willing to work with me in the first place and helping me shape the theoretical approach, which has basically been developed from scratch, you kept me sharp and motivated all along. Indeed, as you are a big source of inspiration for many, so you were, are and will be for me. That I was able to write the dissertation exactly the way I wanted to is thanks to your trust and, admittedly, because we have the same ideas about how to do research and how to convey one’s findings. Lastly, the memories of our travels abroad – to Iraq, Kurdistan, Israel, the West Bank and Bosnia – will stay with me forever. (If only if it were for your slightly odd culinary preferences. I have never seen a human being eat such vast quantities of yoghurt and cornflakes.) The members of the thesis committee also deserve my sincere thanks for providing me with many helpful tips and comments: Marlies, Willemijn, Jaap, Gerd en Anne. Obviously, the Department of Political Science of VU University deserves my appreciation for offering a stimulating environment. Thank you Wolfgang, for letting me be your ‘roommate’ for a while, and Jaap, for being a helpful and patient co- teacher, and for reminding me from time to time to take care of myself. Also a big thank you to my fellow PhDs, especially Karen, Femke, Karlijn, Scott, Marten, Naná, Michal, Annemarie, Matthias, Leonie, Annemiek, Bianca, Anne-Marie, Falk, Menno. If I were to thank every single Palestinian who helped me along the way, these acknowledgements would have become a book in their own right. It is quite an understatement to say that the following list of friends (as well as informants) is far from complete. These people do deserve to be specifically mentioned, however: vii Tareq, Hamzeh, Walid, Saed, Ibrahim, Fuad, Jamal, Amjad and all of the guys from ‘Askar. In addition to my supervisor, several others have helped me shape my ideas about the theory and the Middle East in general. Erella, of course, provided me with a lot of inside information and, in fact, my introduction to the region itself; Rivke helped me shape my article for Etnofoor and suggested using the concept of ‘fragmented sovereignty’; Gijsbert, thanks for keeping me sharp and for the endless discussions together with Mient Jan (and for siding with me on most of these occasions). That the editors of Etnofoor and Amsterdam Law Forum helped me in improving my articles, in addition to allowing me to preview parts of this study, is very much appreciated. I would also like to thank IKV, for the financial support, obviously, but most notably my gratitude goes to those people who have helped me personally, particularly in the period when I had not even started my research: Jannie, Miriam and Nagla. In addition to this ‘professional’ back-up, I have been able to lean heavy on my friends and family. To start with the former: Hanssie, Robin, Markus, Ivo, Sander, Roan, Wouter and Bazzie, I couldn’t have done it without you. Seriously. Music, laughter, an occasional beer or two and sometimes a much-needed inspirational talk – you kept me going. Hanssie, that you came over to visit me is something I will never forget. If only for the invaluable, shared experience of ‘loving the smell of teargas in the morning’. Two of my former class mates, who have become very good friends, also deserve a special mentioning: Caroline and, wherever you may be in the world at the moment, Andrea (& Jeroen, of course!). Even though we don’t talk to each other every day, the mere fact of knowing that I can count on you is reassuring. There are obviously also many friends I made abroad. Gijs, you’re probably not even aware of how much you’ve helped me. Professionally, for sure, but also on a personal level. You’re quite an inspirational guy and I’m sure you will do very well while earning your own doctorate. Also, there are of course Fanny, Joost, Marco, Roz, Tito, Stepha, Armando, ‘Concha’, and all the others in and around the Guesthouse, who have – together with some Samaritans and White Russians – considerably helped making my fieldwork enjoyable (to say the least). viii Right at the end I had the opportunity to visit Bosnia and meet the inspirational Houston gang: Safa, Krystafer, Adrienne and Diane. You made an impressive two weeks joyful as well. I hope we’ll meet again one day, preferably over a meal of cevapi and a Nektar or two. (Of course I need to especially thank Safa and Diane for trying to keep up with me on the Marš Mira.) Before coming to my family – not only the cornerstone of society but my own, personal rock solid foundation as well – I have to express my gratitude to Eva. Regretfully, sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to but without your love and support I would not have made it through the last four years. That I am who I am today is for a considerable part thanks to the years we spent together. Thank you. And yes, then there’s my family. Mum, Dad, Lotty, and Sander and, lest we not forget, Kato & Einstein, I don’t even know where to begin thanking you, let alone where I should end. You made all of this possible and I hope I’ve made you proud. Although I have always found it a terrible cliché, and vowed to never write these words myself, I will, for one time only, concede by pointing out to you that despite all the kind assistance given to me by the people mentioned above, the sole person responsible for any error you might encounter is me. Martijn Dekker, Amsterdam. ix x Contents Part 1 – Context 1. Introduction ....................................................................................... 16 1.1. Double-barrelled Occupation .................................................................... 16 1.2. A critical approach to conflict and security ............................................... 20 2. Conceptual context ........................................................................... 24 2.1. Human Security ......................................................................................... 24 2.2. Security fabric ............................................................................................ 27 2.3.