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Contradictions and Dialectics: Reshaping Political Space in Israel/Palestine. An Indirect Response to Lina Jamoul
Author(s) -
Yiftachel Oren
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
antipode
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.177
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1467-8330
pISSN - 0066-4812
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8330.2004.00439.x
Subject(s) - palestine , dialectic , politics , citation , space (punctuation) , political science , sociology , history , media studies , theology , law , philosophy , ancient history , linguistics
I chose to open my indirect response to Lina Jamoul with this famous Palestinian poet, not only because of its obvious relation to the geography of oppression and resistance, but also due to its referral to a ‘‘wall’’, as a symbol of strength, persistence and obstruction. A wall of a different kind will be the center of my short essay, in which I analyze recent changes in the political geography of Israel/Palestine, focusing on ‘‘the wall/fence’’ (separation barrier) now being unilaterally constructed by Israel in the West Bank, in contravention of international law. Some 90 miles of a planned 298 miles of the barrier have already been built, consisting of a 60–100 meter-wide strip, made of two electric fences and two track roads in the rural areas; and 41 miles of high concrete wall in and around Palestinian cities. Some 51,000 acres of Palestinian land are to be affected—appropriated, cleared, or declared ‘‘out of bounds’’ for West Bank Palestinians.