The Israelis have occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip for 40 years, and there is no end in sight for the suffering of the Palestinian people there. During two months in 2006, editor and publisher Eric Hazan visited three cities — Nablus, Qalqilya, and Hebron to see what he calls "the everyday operation of the vast military and bureaucratic machine known as the 'occupation.' " Among those he talks to are mothers, businesspeople, political leaders, a bookseller, a doctor, and a feminist activist.
In Nablus, anyone under the age of 30 is turned back at the checkpoints. Many of the 160, 000 inhabitants have not left the city since the spring of 2002. It is dangerous to go out at night after eleven o'clock since Israeli special forces squads dressed as Palestinians are busy with kidnappings and assassinations.
The mayor of Qalqilya talks about the onerous double siege by the Israelis and by the countries that have cut off aid to the Palestinian people. And in Hebron the 400 Jewish settlers protected by the army do all they can to make the lives of 130,000 Palestinians as uncomfortable as possible. Hazran conclusion expresses his amazement at the breadth and depth of suffering and injustice these persecuted, demoralized, and ravaged people have had to endure.
