Gaza – Palestine: Out of the Margins Edited by Mehrene Larudee Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies Birzeit University 2011 Gaza – Palestine: Out of the Margins Edited by Mehrene Larudee Published by Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies – Birzeit University “This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Center, Ottawa, Canada.” First Edition – 2011 © All Rights Reserved ISBN 978-9950-316-43-0 Birzeit University P.O. Box 14, Birzeit, West Bank, Palestine Telefax: +970(2)2982939 or +972(2)2982939 Email Address: [email protected] Website: http://home.birzeit.edu/ialiis Cover: Picture by Raed Bader “A wall graffiti in Ramallah downtown shows the interrelationship between Gaza and Palestine. Without Gaza it’s impossible to complete the Palestinian scene as it’s difficult to read the graffiti.” Design & Layout by: Ougarit Marketing Tel:02 29 88 4 88 Table of Contents Dr. Khalil Hindi: Statement of the President of Birzeit University.........1 Asem Khalil: Statement of the Director of the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies..........................................................2 Filippo Grandi: Against all Odds - Advancing Human Development in Gaza......................................................................................................5 Sara Roy: A Land Diminished: Reflections on Gaza’s Landscape...........................................................................................14 Helga Tawil-Souri: The Hi-Tech Enclosure of Gaza..............................27 Julie Peteet: A Fortress Country and a Gated Enclave: Locating the Palestinian Margin..............................................................................50 Maha Samman Mansour: Israeli Colonial Contraction: The cases of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip................................................77 Youssef Courbage: Gaza, an Ever Rebellious Demography?.............112 Asem Khalil: The ‘Protection Gap’ and the Palestinian Refugees of the Gaza Strip..........................................................................................126 Clemens Messerschmid: Water in Gaza – Problems & Prospects....136 Jean-Baptiste Humbert: Archaeology and Heritage in Gaza............188 Bashir Al-Zoughbi and Raed Bader: Conference Proceedings..........199 Mehrene Larudee: Concluding Remarks..........................................209 Annex I: Authors Bios........................................................................220 Annex II: Figures of Maha Samman Mansour’s article.....................222 Annex III: Figures of Youssef Courbage’s article...............................224 Annex IV: Figures of Clemens Messerschmid...................................233 Dr. Khalil Hindi: Statement of the President of Birzeit University Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to this international conference at Birzeit University, organized by the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies entitled ‘Gaza - Palestine: Out of the Margins’. May I take this opportunity to thank all participants, particularly those who have come from abroad to share our concerns. I trust that this conference will mark the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration that will benefit Birzeit University, as well as your academic research. The conference aims to encourage reflection on the situation in Palestine; more particularly on the status of Gaza, thereby bridging a research gap clearly perceived by everyone interested in Palestinian public affairs and concerned about the increasing marginalization of Gaza. Birzeit University has always sought to encourage sound scientific research on Palestine, as part of its effort to have a leading role nationally, regionally and internationally. Our reflection on Gaza is not thinking about the other, but about the self. It is reflecting on the Palestinian identity, though, according to our late great poet, Mahmoud Darwish, it is an identity “under construction”, for “identity is what we bequeath, not what we inherit; what we invent, not what we remember.” I am looking forward in particular to the opening speech by the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, Mr. Filippo Grandi, which considers, contrary to all expectations, “advancing human development in the Gaza Strip.” Thank you for accepting the invitation to submit papers or to participate in the debate on the important topics under discussion. I wish the conference all the success it richly deserves and for which you have, no doubt, worked hard. 1 Asem Khalil: Statement of the Director of the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies Dr. Khalil Hindi, President of Birzeit University, Mr. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Ladies and Gentlemen, We are honored at the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies to inaugurate the Conference entitled ‘Gaza – Palestine: Out of the Margins’. The title and the theme of this conference may invoke questions for some and elicit curiosity on the part of others. In any event, we, the organizers of the conference, are its main beneficiaries. You have collectively emphasized the importance of the event by your presence here, even though it is a Friday morning, and despite the timing of the conference which, albeit by coincidence, comes after three international conferences held at Birzeit University in the past few weeks. Among the many communications we received in the run-up to this event, I shall always remember a message from someone inquiring about the “conference about Hamas which Birzeit is organizing.” As most of you in attendance know very well, this conference is neither about Hamas nor about Fatah, nor even the Palestinian Authority nor the Hamas-led government. It is about Palestine and the Palestinians, and about rejecting a situation in which thinking of a part of the nation has become a source of suspicion and a reason to question. Gaza is a part of the Palestinian nation, and its centrality needs to be recognized. Hence the title of this conference. As for the papers to be presented, they are all by academics who responded to the call for proposed research papers sent out by the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies more than six months ago – with the exception of Mr. Filippo Grandi who will honor us with his keynote address today, and I am personally grateful to him for having saved some of his time to be with us, despite all his many preoccupations, and Professor Sara Roy of Harvard University who will 2 give the second keynote address on ‘A land diminished - Reflections on Gaza’s landscape.’ This conference is one in a series of activities that the Forced Migration and Refugee Unit (FMRU) at the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute is organizing, generously supported by Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC), the sole external sponsor of this conference. On behalf of the Institute and Birzeit University I would like to thank the IDRC and particularly Ms. Roula El-Rifai who is present with us today. A word of thanks goes out to all who have contributed their effort and time in the development of the foundations of the FMRU, which has now culminated in the development of a new concentration in Forced Migration and Refugee studies within the MA program in international studies. This places Birzeit University in a leading position in terms of pedagogy and research specialization, not simply at the Palestinian level, but also at that of the Arab world. The existence of such a concentration – the first of its kind in Palestine – is of particular importance with regard to understanding and treatment of issues of forced migration, refugees, and displacement which have faced and continue to face millions of Palestinians. We thus intend to summon up memories and enrich our understanding of the present, helping to supply these millions with tools for creating a better future. Here is a ‘deportation order’ against parliamentarians from Jerusalem; here is another order deporting a child, thus separating him from his family on the pretext of having thrown stones; here is an Israeli High Court decision allowing the demolition of Palestinian houses and approving the construction of the separation wall. Here is a military order to be added to other thousands making the inhabitants of Gaza foreigners in the West Bank and prohibiting the inhabitants of the West Bank from entering Gaza Strip, and threatening the inhabitants of Jerusalem with a loss of their identity cards, for whatever reason and at any time. This bitter present reminds us of an unforgotten past – I hope that we will not forget it, that it will not be forgotten by the governor, the negotiator or the opponent. It will most certainly not be forgotten by 3 generations of Palestinian living without a land, or a State for more than sixty years, as they nevertheless dream of a state and of their return to the soil. Distinguished guests, I very much look forward to hearing your contributions to this conference, and hope that the event will be worthy of your continued interest over the next two days. There is not the slightest intent here to affirm particular views while suppressing or excluding others. We are here to put forward ideas and, I hope, to be creative, even if some arguments turn out to be controversial. At any rate, we as Palestinians believe in the essential humanity of our cause. We will not tolerate our – or Gaza’s – marginalization, and we reject the kind of serenity