In early June, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip (and the Golan Heights) entered its 40th year.[*] The Palestinians who inhabit these territories have lived under Israeli military occupation for two full generations; before that, between 1948 and 1967, they lived under Jordanian and Egyptian regimes. The overwhelming majority of this population of more than 3.5 million knows only Israeli military rule. Most Israelis do not remember a time when they did not dominate another people, and when their children did not have to serve in an army of occupation. This occupation differs in several respects from the colonisation that has been going on inside Israel since at least 1948. In every successful nation-state with colonial settler origins - the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - the indigenous minority that remained after surviving various forms of ethnic cleansing has been deprived of most of its land, but has been incorporated into the polity, although often as second-class citizens subject to discrimination.

LRB 6 July 2006 | PDF Download