The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a complicated and multi-dimensional conflict. In many contexts, it is very hard, if not impossible, to assess the violence between Palestinian and Israeli society today without resorting to a developed theory rather than emotion. However, many scholars and politicians hold the assumption that Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be properly understood with the frameworks, categories and concepts employed to understand other countries and conflicts . We shall endeavour to counter such beliefs and develop exactly that, a framework for analysing Israeli-Palestinian relations and conflict, allowing us to put the conflict into perspective and further develop a structural investigation into the root causes of conflict. We will do this at the example of the Algerian uprising against French colonialism. To develop such a framework, we will draw on classic texts such as the writings of Fanon and Memmi, as well as works by writers such as Bregmann, Barnett and Khader, but also on others, cross-referencing continuously between texts on colonialism, Israel-Palestine, and Algeria.
As the title of this text indicates, the author holds the view that the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories is essentially a colonial one. This is not to say that we should consider the Territories a colony. Algeria was not a colony. What we want to say is that we believe in the existence of a colonial relationship between the two populations, based on the principles of colonialism.
Why Algeria? We have chosen French colonialism in Algeria for the structural basis of our framework for a number of reasons. First, because France, like Israel, denied the colonial character of Algeria’s situation; second, because analysts appear to have regularly felt the urge to draw attention to the parallels between the Battle of Algiers and Israel’s reaction to the Palestinian’s uprising, while the evacuation of French settlers from Algeria is being cited in Israel as a precedent for the Israeli disengagement from the Occupied Territories; and third, because of the immense impact the Algerian War had on the conceptual world of resistance movements around the world – including the then-young PLO hoping to repeat the FLN’s tactics of national liberation in Palestine.
At a glance
- Compares Israeli-Palestinian relations with French colonialism in Algeria
- Applies writings by Fanon and Memmi to the comparative framework
- 45 sources in the bibliography
- 8 tables
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. On Colonialism, Occupation and the Algerian War
2.1 What is Colonialism?
2.2 Distinctions - Why Occupation and Colonialism are not the Same
2.3 Grievances, Decolonisation and Violence
3. The Fundamentals of Israeli Occupation
3.1 Characterising Israeli Occupation
3.2 Reconsidering the Occupation’s Character
3.3 Why does Israel maintain this Relationship?
4. On Grievances, Violence and an Exit Strategy
4.1 Concerning Violence
4.2 Saving Colonialism by Modernizing it?
4.3 Looking Ahead: Post-Colonialism or Neo-Colonialism?
5. Conclusion: What's in a word? The Colonialism of the Occupied Territories
Aims and Themes
This work develops a comparative framework for examining Israeli-Palestinian relations and conflict through the history of French colonialism and decolonisation in Algeria. It asks how far concepts of colonialism can illuminate the structures of occupation, the emergence of violence and the challenges of a lasting peace.
- Colonialism, occupation and unequal power relations
- The Algerian War of Independence as a comparative case
- Economic dependence, settlement and control of resources
- Socioeconomic grievances and cycles of violence
- The Oslo process and possibilities for post-colonial relations
Excerpt from the Book
What is Colonialism?
Colonialism is defined as domination and exploitation: broadly speaking, such a political structure is best described as the establishment of a specific socio-political arrangement based on and sustained by the threat or application of force. Generally, such a relationship is established through conquest and submission of other cultures, usually resulting in the partial or complete disintegration of previously existing traditional frameworks of values, social organisations and institutions.
Certainly the principal historical example of colonialism in action has been the European domination over most of Africa over much of the past two centuries. This domination was mastered through individual colonies each featuring different elements of 'theoretically perfect' colonialism, while lacking others. However, not all features are necessary and having only some may be sufficient. Consequently, not all colonialisms are the same, not all colonisers are equal and one solution to one colonial context need not to be valid for all.
This is important, as the underlying structural relationship itself is not established by simple physical conquest and occupation alone, but rather through a developing implicit or explicit contractual relationship between vanquished and victor emerging out of this conquest and occupation. Brief, in a colonial relationship the conquered individuals tacitly agree to obey their new sovereign while the later one does not engage in any responsibilities or promises.
In submitting to the conqueror, individuals institute him as authority with a sufficient threatening power to keep them in awe and acknowledge his rule. A hostile slave-master relationship exists in which the stronger country exploits the weaker one and the weaker country's resources are used to strengthen and enrich the stronger country.
Over time the hostile relationship between conqueror and defeated progressively changes into a more permanent form similar to a master-servant relationship. This change is certainly under no circumstances voluntary, but it cannot be as coercive as that the sovereign's authority would break down once brute force disappears out of sight: the colonised becomes colonised by accepting colonisation and recognising the coloniser. As Memmi emphasizes in Coloniser and Colonised, in order to understand colonialism, we have to recognise this interdependency as both coloniser and colonised are created by colonisation in the first place: “the colonial relationship chained the coloniser and the colonised in a type of relentless dependency, shaping their respective features and dictating their conduct. (...) It does not suffice for the colonised objectively to be a slave, he must recognise himself as such”.
This relationship, maintained by pre-emptive suppression of internal dissent once established, largely explains the absence of active resistance on behalf of the colonised – demonstrating equally that any ensuing colonial political and social order inevitably has to be a fundamentally authoritarian one.
Chapter Summaries
Introduction: The author introduces a comparative framework for examining Israeli-Palestinian relations through French colonialism in Algeria and outlines the literature informing it.
On Colonialism, Occupation and the Algerian War: This chapter distinguishes colonialism from occupation and discusses the relationship between colonial grievances, decolonisation and violence in Algeria.
The Fundamentals of Israeli Occupation: The author examines the historical and economic character of Israeli control over the West Bank and Gaza, including settlement, labour and resources, and considers reasons for its continuation.
On Grievances, Violence and an Exit Strategy: This chapter explores violence and counterinsurgency, the Oslo process and possible paths toward post-colonial relations.
Conclusion: What's in a word? The Colonialism of the Occupied Territories: The author brings together the comparison's implications for understanding the conflict while acknowledging differences between Israel-Palestine and Algeria.
Keywords
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, colonialism, occupation, Algeria, decolonisation, Algerian War of Independence, West Bank, Gaza, socioeconomic grievances, political violence, Oslo Accords, Frantz Fanon, Albert Memmi, peacebuilding
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this work about?
It examines Israeli-Palestinian relations through a comparative framework informed by French colonialism in Algeria.
What are its central themes?
Its themes include occupation, colonial power, economic dependence, violence, decolonisation and the prospects for peace.
What is the primary research question?
The work asks how a framework based on colonialism and the Algerian experience can illuminate the structures and dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
What method does the author use?
The author uses a comparative and interpretive analysis of historical and scholarly literature, cross-referencing writings on colonialism, Algeria and Israel-Palestine.
What does the main discussion cover?
It examines the distinction between occupation and colonialism, Israeli control of the West Bank and Gaza, socioeconomic grievances, violence and political negotiations.
Which keywords characterise the work?
Key terms include colonialism, occupation, decolonisation, Algeria, the West Bank, Gaza, socioeconomic grievances and political violence.
Why does the author discuss Algeria?
The Algerian struggle against French colonial rule provides the historical comparison used to develop the work's analytical framework.
How are Fanon and Memmi used?
The author draws on their accounts of colonial relationships, decolonisation and violence to interpret the cases under discussion.
How does the work approach the Oslo process?
It considers the agreements and their aftermath in relation to political authority, socioeconomic dependence and the possibility of a lasting settlement.
- Arbeit zitieren
- M.A. Florian Heyden (Autor:in), 2006, Israel’s Colonial Predicament, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/79875
