Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., January 26, 2009 Shvat 1, 5769 | | Israel Time: 12:35 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File
In praise of the occupation
By Amira Hass

Advertisement
But the right to movement within the expanse and the basic rights that derive from it - the right to earn a living, to study and to develop cultural ties - opened up possibilities of development and progress for people, both as individuals and as a national community. The experience of the expanse compensated for the many vacuums that the Israeli policy of discrimination had created.

For about a quarter century of occupation, relatives and natives of the same villages came together again. People from the Galilee and from the Gaza Strip studied together in educational institutions in the West Bank and in Jerusalem, developed cultural and political ties and met in mosques and churches; people who had been separated until then by signs saying "Danger: Border Ahead," found themselves working at the same hospitals, the same factories, the same markets, the same construction sites and afterward at the companies they established together; couples were formed and children were born, who were familiar with the changing landscapes of their homeland not from songs of longing but rather from visits to relatives.

Indeed, the right to live together in the home expanse was denied not only to the 1948 refugees, but also to the new refugees of 1967: About 240,000 people, inhabitants of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip who were expelled and fled fearing the battles, and another approximately 60,000 who were abroad when the war broke out. The young state, only 19 years old at the time, acted as though it were mature and experienced: It hastened to deny the vast majority of them the status of residency in their land. By means of various tricks it also denied residency to another 100,000 individuals who went abroad to work or study after 1967, with a skillfulness that created another link in the chain of dispossession that began in 1948 and to which we have not put an end to this day.

But it was only in the 24th year of the occupation that Israel began to "correct" the empowering "mistake" of 1967: If until then the occupation had been characterized by the theft of land (and water), it was now also characterized by the robbery of the Palestinian expanse. Starting in 1991, Israel has been creating two kinds of expanses between the Mediterranean and the Jordan: a superior, open, developed and improved space for the Jews, and a shattered space tainted by intentional de-development for the Palestinians.

This radical change began in January 1991, when Israel revoked the right of all Palestinians to freedom of movement in the whole country and established a regime of permits for limited amounts of time, doled out only to a minority. First the inhabitants of Gaza were cut off from the entire expanse. Then came the turn of the inhabitants of the West Bank. Later the accelerated construction of the Jewish settlements and the building of the bypass roads in the West Bank (all under the cover of "the peace process") cut the northern part of the West Bank off from its southern part and increasingly distanced villages from their lands and their provincial towns. Gradually, Israel also restricted the movement of the state's non-Jewish citizens in the expanse and denied their entrance into the Gaza Strip (from 1994 onward) and afterward into the West Bank as well (from 2000 onward). And this is how we arrived at the present: an archipelago of dozens of small and shrunk enclaves, cut off from one another, with the distance between them increasing.

No wonder there is nostalgia for the occupation that existed before 1991!
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Disturbing trend
Jewish Agency says Anti-Semitic acts in Jan. 2009 triple last year's records.
After the war
IDF gains in Gaza have softened Israel's stance on Shalit deal.
  1.   The Matrix of Control 10:02  |  David 05/06/07
  2.   Why does Haaretz Print This 10:06  |  Paul 05/06/07
  3.   AMIRA AND THE ARGUMENT OF FOOLS T 10:07  |  paul harris 05/06/07
  4.   Amira Hess, on the building of Ghetto Palestine 10:20  |  Clickfool 05/06/07
  5.   LIBERATE THE TERRITORIES,LET PALS MOVE FREELY(TO CANADA,EUROPE) 10:24  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 05/06/07
  6.   thats a good way of looking at it 11:12  |  TeamOfMonkeys.com 05/06/07
  7.   And now the archives are open 11:28  |  Marilyn 05/06/07
  8.   Innocent victims 11:36  |  bill 05/06/07
  9.   ALL the news, please, Amira 11:47  |  nina 05/06/07
  10.   Good! Keep up the good work Israel. Good use of technology to win 12:04  |  Pavel 05/06/07
  11.   Something akin to the Pale of Settlement. 12:26  |  sandra chitayat 05/06/07
  12.   THANK YOU HAARETZ FOR HAVING A FREE WEBSITE.... 12:29  |  BUNCHA KOOKS 05/06/07
  13.   Amira (Rudolph) Hess 12:31  |  Nik Miller 05/06/07
  14.   FREE PALESTINE 12:38  |  Gabriel 05/06/07
  15.   Amira Haas 12:42  |  Silvia 05/06/07
  16.   Question for Pavel # 10 12:48  |  Clickfool 05/06/07
  17.   Yes, So What We`re Seeing in Gaza Is Called Unity 13:10  |  Jane 05/06/07
  18.   Forgetful Jewish extremist 13:20  |  Gene 05/06/07
  19.   Amira Hass strikes again 13:25  |  Hastaroth 05/06/07
  20.   JEWS ONLY? 13:51  |  blondie 05/06/07
  21.   #7 MORE OF THE MARYLIN MAGIC WITH TOTAL INVENTION !! 14:05  |  paul harris 05/06/07
  22.   Amira has in a short article outlined the process and signficance 14:07  |  lakshmi 05/06/07
  23.   Amira`s unity is a myth 14:22  |  Jasmine Murphy 05/06/07
  24.   David in London 14:24  |  Jasmine Murphy 05/06/07
  25.   Root Cause Analysis - Who Do We Blame 14:25  |  Bernie 05/06/07
  26.   It`s not the "Occupation" 14:48  |  Yehonatan 05/06/07
  27.   #12 to Jasmine about right-thinking people 14:54  |  David 05/06/07
  28.   STOP REACTING TO LEVY AND HASS!! 15:20  |  martyrmaker 05/06/07
  29.   Arabs chose violence over 2 states- even over 1967`s one state 15:25  |  James Adler 05/06/07
  30.   To Bernie - root cause is ANTISEMITISM 15:28  |  Dudu 05/06/07
  31.   Human rights 15:39  |  Nik Miller 05/06/07
  32.   Root cause analysis2 15:39  |  Inigo Montoya 05/06/07
  33.   Root cause3 15:41  |  Inigo Montoya 05/06/07
  34.   20 James Adler,no, that would mean a truncated state 16:25  |  lakshmi 05/06/07
  35.   Dudu 16:36  |  Bernie 05/06/07
  36.   IF JEWS LEFT THE WEST BANK 16:38  |  Nicole 05/06/07
  37.   22 16:57  |  Inigo Montoya 05/06/07
  38.   Amira conviniently forgets that those changes 17:21  |  TOMY 05/06/07
  39.   to Bernie-Root Cause 17:38  |  nina 05/06/07
  40.   Bernie off the mark 17:40  |  John 05/06/07
  41.   Israel shot itself in the foot in 1967 17:44  |  AM 05/06/07
  42.   The positive aspect of this development 18:01  |  Tosefta 05/06/07
  43.   Relation between Terror and Occupation 18:07  |  Tosefta 05/06/07
  44.   Haaretz "In Praise of Rubbish"....AGAIN! 18:11  |  Psalm 05/06/07
  45.   34: Londistan speaks 18:18  |  David Teich 05/06/07
  46.   John Heres the facts 18:25  |  Bernie 05/06/07
  47.   ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE BULL SH... BRIGADE 18:26  |  Jorge 05/06/07
  48.   John Please Answer This Honestly 18:28  |  Bernie 05/06/07
  49.   Occupation reunited the Pals. 18:44  |  Joe 05/06/07
  50.   #35 HILARITY FROM AM WHER ARE THESE WISE PEOPLE?? 18:45  |  paul harris 05/06/07
  51.   Amira and her poisen pen 18:49  |  Connie 05/06/07
  52.   Nice try at rewriting history 18:49  |  Moshe 05/06/07
  53.   the occupation 18:51  |  ljf-canada 05/06/07
  54.   The positive aspect of this development 19:11  |  Tosefta 05/06/07
  55.   no word about the Hamas bombings that led to all this 19:23  |  David B. 05/06/07
  56.   We did not learn any thing from the Occupation 19:25  |  El-Birawi 05/06/07
  57.   uniting the arabs 19:48  |  norman A. Blumberg 05/06/07
  58.   Hello Amira, It`s cruel to block people off .... 19:51  |  Dutch 05/06/07
  59.   United? 20:03  |  Walter 05/06/07
  60.   David Teich 20:10  |  AM 05/06/07
  61.   TO paul harris #15 20:31  |  Steve Beikirch 05/06/07
  62.   Gosh, Amira! 20:31  |  whomever 05/06/07
  63.   Gosh, Amira! 20:31  |  whomever 05/06/07
  64.   El-Birawi of somewhere 20:33  |  akiva P 05/06/07
  65.   #2, Paul 20:33  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  66.   TO Yehonatan #20 20:33  |  Steve Beikirch 05/06/07
  67.   They Seemed More United in 1920`s-1950`s 20:36  |  Ben 05/06/07
  68.   #7, Marilyn 20:38  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  69.   David about degradation 20:41  |  Jasmine Murphy 05/06/07
  70.   28.lakshmi. Rewritten for clarity. Arabs ruined hopes by violence 20:42  |  James Adler 05/06/07
  71.   #10, Pavel 20:51  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  72.   #10, Pavel 20:52  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  73.   #14, Blondie 20:57  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  74.   #21, Jasmine Murphy 21:03  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  75.   AM # 54 21:11  |  ChanahS 05/06/07
  76.   Six Day War timeline for revisionist historians 21:13  |  ChanahS 05/06/07
  77.   #1, David 21:19  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  78.   palestinian failure 21:20  |  real vision 05/06/07
  79.   #55 STEVE WANTS TO KNOW HOW 21:20  |  paul harris 05/06/07
  80.   #20, Bernie 21:25  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  81.   Defines "Palestinian" 21:26  |  Scharker Yid 05/06/07
  82.   "The Arab Blame Game" 21:32  |  Sandman 05/06/07
  83.   #21, Yehonatan 21:34  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  84.   #1, Martyrmaker 21:41  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  85.   #31, Nicole 21:46  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  86.   #7 Marilyn, Re: Israeli Propaganda 21:55  |  Dutch 05/06/07
  87.   Actually, Hannah, it`s dhimmis like you who support genocide! 21:59  |  martyrmaker 05/06/07
  88.   #45 Connie, Re The Israeli Army 22:12  |  Dutch 05/06/07
  89.   #80 MORE HILARITY FROM DORIS SHE SAYS SHE DOESNT SUPPORT ISRAEL 22:20  |  paul harris 05/06/07
  90.   Amira Is Confused 22:21  |  Joe Reality 05/06/07
  91.   #81 MARTYR MAKER HANNAH IS AN ARAB LIVING IN CANADA 22:21  |  paul harris 05/06/07
  92.   #74 HANNAH IM FASCINATED HOW DO YOU STEAL A HOUSE ? 22:25  |  paul harris 05/06/07
  93.   To Paul Why does Haaretz Print This 22:26  |  TonyL 05/06/07
  94.   To Hannah: The Price to Be Paid 22:37  |  Thomas Jackson 05/06/07
  95.   To Hannah: The Price to Be Paid 22:37  |  Thomas Jackson 05/06/07
  96.   I WOULDNT TAKE AMIRAS WORD DORIS 22:39  |  paul harris 05/06/07
  97.   Amira, you should not complain 22:49  |  KUTW 05/06/07
  98.   Hass apparently missed today`s news in Haaretz 22:54  |  Genuine Tosefta 05/06/07
  99.   Hannah # 85 23:05  |  ChanahS 05/06/07
  100.   to # 3 23:10  |  Palestinian 05/06/07
  101.   David # 27 23:12  |  ChanahS 05/06/07
  102.   To Tosefta: Where are the people? 23:20  |  Thomas Jackson 05/06/07
  103.   To # 78 23:25  |  Shame on you 05/06/07
  104.   #87, Martyrmaker 23:32  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  105.   #54: Question for Tosefta: Where exactly is the positive aspect? 23:38  |  Thomas Jackson 05/06/07
  106.   To # 10 23:45  |  Read your book 05/06/07
  107.   #,94, Thomas Jackson 23:56  |  Hannah 05/06/07
  108.   Muslims massacred by each others till they came to the infidel. 00:03  |  e.m 06/06/07
  109.   Thomas Jackson # 102 00:08  |  ChanahS 06/06/07
  110.   # 103 The shame is yours 00:13  |  ChanahS 06/06/07
  111.   #91 Say Paul Harris; how on earth would you, of all people, 00:23  |  ballistic 06/06/07
  112.   Some of you weren`t even born yet 00:24  |  AM 06/06/07
  113.   Muslims massacred by each others till they came to the infidel. 00:32  |  e.m 06/06/07
  114.   101 ChanahS - No they really don`t enjoy killing 00:48  |  David 06/06/07
  115.   Where are the people, where is the positive? (T. Jackson #102,5) 00:50  |  Tosefta 06/06/07
  116.   Fake Tosefta Alert #98 00:53  |  Tosefta 06/06/07
  117.   #77 Hannah - Thank you for an intelligent post 00:55  |  David 06/06/07
  118.   #99 ChanahS - turn on your TV 01:02  |  David 06/06/07
  119.   Thomas Jackson - Good People Don`t Blow Up Buses 01:05  |  Jane 06/06/07
  120.   #99, Chanah S. 01:11  |  Hannah 06/06/07
  121.   Amira Hass, who are you? 01:15  |  akiva P 06/06/07
  122.   ok thomas jackson what is the worst you accuse us of 01:25  |  abdel ezer 06/06/07
  123.   tosefta sings for his meal 01:31  |  yannai 06/06/07
  124.   who said this "the palestinian struggle must go on 01:32  |  yannai 06/06/07
  125.   thomas jackson"amira has described a series of cruelties 01:37  |  abdel ezer 06/06/07
  126.   Dutch 01:38  |  Connie 06/06/07
  127.   thomas jackson you have over two million people in your prisons 01:40  |  abdel ezer 06/06/07
  128.   thomas jackson asks 01:42  |  abdel ezer 06/06/07
  129.   Dutch 01:43  |  Connie aka Queen Liz 06/06/07
  130.   amira haas is a betrayer of her people 01:45  |  quisling 06/06/07
  131.   who are haas`s friends 01:48  |  robert fisk 06/06/07
  132.   # 3 Amira the argument of the fool, indeed! 02:02  |  Monica L 06/06/07
  133.   Ms. Ha(tred)as, who are you? 02:03  |  akiva P 06/06/07
  134.   amira ....palestinians united by.. 02:04  |  maria 06/06/07
  135.   The revoked freedom of the Palestinian people. 02:04  |  Maureen Ann 06/06/07
  136.   # Amira # 13 02:04  |  Bamber G 06/06/07
  137.   does amira know what`s going on in the palestinian 02:07  |  maria 06/06/07
  138.   Who`s got it right ? 02:23  |  Confused 06/06/07
  139.   Who`s got it right ? 02:55  |  akiva P 06/06/07
  140.   To # 108 02:58  |  Stupid 06/06/07
  141.   Dutch #86 02:59  |  TonyL 06/06/07
  142.   To # 113 03:01  |  Jewish Land? 06/06/07
  143.   If Haaretz pays Hass zilch, it`s still too much. 03:02  |  Chaim 06/06/07
  144.   Tosefta: re fake Tosefta 03:08  |  TonyL 06/06/07
  145.   70James Adler,the Palestinians could not have accepted Res242, 03:11  |  lakshmi 06/06/07
  146.   86Dutch,well said,and i watched a bit of the 03:16  |  lakshmi 06/06/07
  147.   #PAUL 03:17  |  Janice 06/06/07
  148.   Ghastly Tosefta #42,43,54,115,116 is again making up stupid stuff 03:21  |  Genuine Tosefta 06/06/07
  149.   58El Birawi,and after all the resistance elements are driven out 03:28  |  lakshmi 06/06/07
  150.   Maureen An,Philistinian and Aboriginian beoble have a common goal 03:29  |  Jalal 06/06/07
  151.   Return of the shallow water, multi-headed Hydra (aka abdel ezer) 04:30  |  Tosefta 06/06/07
  152.   It Was 1967? 05:13  |  Daniel 06/06/07
  153.   Abu Amira Al-Hassawi 06:16  |  Mireya Siquieros 06/06/07
  154.   # 120 Hannah - Huh? + David 07:47  |  ChanahS 06/06/07
  155.   Did Amira Hass read that Abu Mazen fears civil war? 08:31  |  Robert 06/06/07
  156.   60: AM, right... 09:04  |  David Teich 06/06/07
  157.   Why does Haaretz print this intentionally semi-honest garbage? 19:33  |  Steve Holden 06/06/07
  158.   TO Paul Harris #79 04:41  |  Steve Beikirch 08/06/07
 Read & React
Livni: Israel should strike Hamas again to halt arms smuggling
Responses: 44
Amir Oren: 'Decisive' Gaza offensive merely rehearsal for next crisis versus Iran
Responses: 5
Netanyahu: Likud-led government wouldn't build new settlements
Responses: 28
Akiva Eldar: Saudi plan offers Israel united front with Arab states against Iran
Responses: 5


More Headlines
11:52 Egypt to Hamas: Take Gaza truce before Netanyahu is PM
12:30 Veteran ultra-Orthodox MK Avraham Ravitz dies aged 75
10:36 Netanyahu: Likud-led coalition wouldn't build new settlements
12:12 Survey: Most Israelis want Benjamin Netanyahu to be prime minister
11:24 Iran MPs plan Gaza visit to praise Hamas resistance against 'Zionist offensive'
10:14 Nine held for allegedly attacking Israeli Arabs in Upper Nazareth
10:35 Haaretz probe: Unknown overseas sources paid MK Lieberman NIS 2.5m
09:33 IDF rabbinate publication during Gaza war: We will show no mercy on the cruel
11:55 Sky News joins BBC in refusing to air Gaza fundraiser
10:51 2 hurt, 1 seriously, after light plane crashes near Beit She`an
04:42 EU presses Egypt to take action against Gaza arms smuggling
11:27 Number of laid-off Israelis set new high in December
07:41 U.S. businessman Guma L. Aguiar gives $8m to Nefesh b'Nefesh
07:43 Program launched to bring all Jewish teachers worldwide to Israel
04:43 Court to state: Let foreign media into Gaza when borders open
04:45 Egypt evacuates Rafah area, fearing IAF strike on Gaza
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Summer in Israel
Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
Blue And White Forever Israel Army T-shirts
Wear with Proud Donate the Soldiers Kit
You can make a direct IMPACT!
on the life of an Israeli soldier
State of Israel Bonds
During this time of market volatility, Israel bonds can help.
SURF RAMBAM
Keep current about new-wave medical care, education and research.
Summer Camp in Israel
The best place for your children this summer
Fattal Hotel Chain
Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Jewish Singles Personal Ads
Find the love of your life on JDate.com
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved
ockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,0,0" width="1" height="1" id="ONE_HomePage" align="middle" VIEWASTEXT>