Gaza: Preparing for Dawn

by Donald Macintyre

Overview

Uniquely imprisoned, most Palestinians in Gaza cannot travel beyond the confines of the Strip, and in times of war escape is impossible. They live under siege – economic and armed – and yet so many remain courageous, outspoken and steadfast.

Donald Macintyre lays bare Gaza’s human tragedy and reveals how it became a crucible of conflict and a byword for suffering. He identifies the repeated failings – including those of the international community – that have seen countless opportunities for peace pass by. Yet, against all odds, hope for a better future lingers.

Gaza was once a flourishing coastal civilization open to the world. Could it be so again?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786074331
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	11/13/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Donald Macintyre was the Independent’s Jerusalem bureau chief for eight years between 2004 and 2012, and before that its political editor and chief political commentator. He is a former presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster. He won the Next Century Foundation’s Peace through Media Award in 2011 and has previously been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Journalism and for the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. He lives in Clapham, south London.

Table of Contents

Maps ix

Prologue: Shakespeare in Gaza xi

Part 1

1 From Ottomans to Oslo, 1917-1995 3

2 Peace Cancelled: From Hope to Intifada, 1995-2003 26

3 'Not a Jew left in Gaza': Disengagement, 2004-5 45

4 "The dream turned into a nightmare': Post-disengagement, 2005-6 64

5 'A beautiful picture to the world': Elections, 2006 77

6 It's the wrong result': International Response to Hamas's Victory, 2006 91

7 'So many hard times ahead': Civil War, 2007 111

8 The Gaza Diet: Siege, 2008-9 138

9 'Not a hair will fall of a soldier of mine': Operation Cast Lead, 2008-9 155

10 'They're punishing the wrong people': Siege, 2008-12 177

11 'Welcome to the biggest prison in the world' 199

12 'Let's not die together': Operation Protective Edge, 2014 215

Part 2

13 'From the middle ages to the nineteenth century': Hamas Shifts its Ground 237

14 "They will always miss home' 255

15 The long-distance runner of Beit Hanoun: Siege and Summoud 265

16 'We love life, if we find a way to it' 281

Conclusion 298

Notes 313

Acknowledgements 335

Select Bibliography 339

Index 343

What People are Saying About This

Shlomo Sand

‘Donald Macintyre has written a remarkable political panorama about Gaza today. In cool prose he exposes the history of the conflict and the discussion that has surrounded it. Anyone interested in understanding the situation between Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and Israel should look at the conclusion of this book. Anyone who wants to feel a little bit how people live in this narrow strip of land on the Mediterranean coast must read the whole work.’

Sara Roy

‘Donald Macintyre’s Gaza is a deeply informed and elegant portrait of this small but profoundly important and misunderstood part of the world. Not only are Gaza’s history and politics made compellingly accessible, so too are her sight, sound and smell. In this way Macintryre challenges any notion of Gaza’s irrelevance and perhaps more importantly does what few authors writing on Gaza have done: elevates the ordinary in a manner that will endure, helping the reader understand that no matter who we are and where we are from, in Gaza we can recognise ourselves. This book speaks to something greater than Gaza’s pain; it speaks to Gaza’s soul.’

Editorial Reviews

‘A brilliant and incisive account of this tiny, vibrant, but embattled enclave. With the two million people of Gaza struggling to survive food shortages, electricity cuts, and increasing amounts of sewage in her surrounding seas, this is a must-read.’— Jon Snow

'This is a book which answers a lot of questions, and prompts quite a few more…Donald Macintyre is to be commended for his forthright approach.’— The Muslim World Book Review

'As head of the Independent’s Jerusalem bureau, Donald Macintyre followed Gaza at a critical time, as he recounts in his highly impressive book Gaza: Preparing for dawn (2017). Macintyre was there when Israel dismantled the settlements, when Hamas won the democratic elections of 2006, and when it took full control in a coup a year later. He was also there when Hamas fired rockets into neighbouring Sderot, and when Israel retaliated with repeated incursions. His first-hand account of the tragedy is even-handed, balanced and devastating.'— Ari Shavit, Times Literary Supplement

‘The inflammable world of Middle Eastern politics is treacherous terrain for those who don’t know it well, and even for those who do: Macintyre navigates it with sensitivity, skill and the diligence of a committed reporter… Along the way he fills readers in on the history that led to today’s impasse.’— Mail on Sunday

‘Superb…essential reading.’— Tribune

‘Wise and powerful.’— The Tablet

‘Donald Macintyre has managed to skillfully write a comprehensive account of the Strip that is faithful to history, humane in its consideration of people, and accurate with respect to events. The lucid style of this commendable journalist makes history and events comprehensible and easy to follow.’— This Week in Palestine

'Searing, scrupulous reportage.'— Jenny McCartney

‘Highly informative and written in an engaging style, navigating the humanitarian repercussions of diplomacy and impunity well.’— Middle East Monitor

‘Donald Macintyre skilfully picks his way through the tangle of accusations that surrounds Gaza’s tragedy. This is a lucid, essential guide. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to understand the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.’— Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor

‘A perceptive first-hand analysis of Gaza’s hell-on-earth.’— Martin Bell, author of War and the Death of News

‘Donald Macintyre’s Gaza is a deeply informed and elegant portrait of this small but profoundly important and misunderstood part of the world. Not only are Gaza’s history and politics made compellingly accessible, so too are her sight, sound and smell. In this way Macintyre challenges any notion of Gaza’s irrelevance and perhaps more importantly does what few authors writing on Gaza have done: elevates the ordinary in a manner that will endure, helping the reader understand that no matter who we are and where we are from, in Gaza we can recognise ourselves. This book speaks to something greater than Gaza’s pain; it speaks to Gaza’s soul.’— Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University

‘Donald Macintyre has written a remarkable political panorama about Gaza today. In cool prose he exposes the history of the conflict and the discussion that has surrounded it. Anyone interested in understanding the situation between Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and Israel should look at the conclusion of this book. Anyone who wants to feel a little bit how people live in this narrow strip of land on the Mediterranean coast must read the whole work.’— Shlomo Sand, Emeritus Professor of History, Tel Aviv University, and author of The Invention of the Jewish People

From the Publisher