The Middle East Council on Global Affairs (the Council) hosted a webinar on August 29, 2022, convening experts to examine the present and future of the Gaza Strip in the wake of Israel\u2019s latest offensive. The distinguished panelists were Dalal Iriqat, assistant professor at the Arab American University (AAUP); Muhammad Shehada, chief of programs and communications at Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor; and Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. Omar H. Rahman, Fellow at the Council, moderated the discussion, which analyzed the humanitarian and political implications of Israel\u2019s recent bombardment of Gaza.<\/p>\n
Omar Rahman opened the webinar by giving an overview of Israel\u2019s long-standing policies of isolation, including a complete air and land blockade of Gaza. Often referred to as an \u201copen-air prison,\u201d Gaza habitants face food insecurity, poverty, high unemployment levels, lack of access to clean drinking water, and limited to non-existent health care services. The United Nations stated that by 2020, Gaza will be uninhabitable, and the dire conditions of everyday life there reflect this prediction.<\/p>\n
Muhammad Shehada turned the discussion to a number of reasons for cautious optimism. Gaza has immense, unrealized potential in terms of landscapes and natural resources. Gazans are resilient and skeptical towards the use of violence in the service of political agendas. However, Shehada also noted that one cannot disregard the harsh realities that prevent the employment and development of Gazan human potential. Caged by Israeli policies, Palestinians there feel threatened by the increased security presence that is marked by the proliferation of drones above the Strip. Moreover, mobility between Gaza and elsewhere is meticulously restricted, with bans enforced on technological equipment as simple as ATMs and money counting machines. These bans are planned to further constrict the basic functions of Gaza\u2019s economy. Shehada also drew attention to the international community\u2019s unreasonable expectation that Gazans remain silent in the face of unprovoked Israeli acts of violence. Such suppression of civil society and non-violent expression, Shehada reasoned, increases the likelihood that individuals will resort to armed resistance.<\/p>\n
After her recent visit to Gaza, Dalal Iriqat criticized claims made by Israelis that Israeli authorities withdrew from Gaza and (former Israeli PM Ariel) Sharon claims at the time concerning the deployment of Jewish settlers. These sudden deployments were not, in fact, coordinated with local organizations such as the PLO, despite claims to the contrary. She rejected the argument that increased security measures are necessary for the surveillance of Hamas, maintaining that this reinforces the violent status quo in Gaza. In Iriqat\u2019s analysis, political fragmentation within the Palestinian community worsens the situation. Instead, Gaza must be economically incorporated and treated as an integral part of Palestine rather than as a separate entity. Iriqat also argued that the blockade is a form of structural violence and collective punishment of the more than 2.2 million Palestinians who reside in Gaza. Moreover, Gazans cannot be approached only from a humanitarian angle; political solutions are necessary to bring about the fundamental changes that will allow Palestinians to present a unified front.<\/p>\n