Notes on the Occupation: Palestinian Lives

Almost forty years after the Israeli military occupation of Palestine, scenes from everyday life in the West Bank remain rare and fragmented in the West. Despite its prominence in world news, surprisingly little is known about daily life in this troubled land. Yet with the publication of former President Jimmy Carter’s controversial new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, it has become clear that an unvarnished view of Palestinian life is an essential prerequisite to peace. In Notes on the Occupation, critic and intellectual Eric Hazan provides crucial insight into life in the occupied state.

The result of a monthlong visit to the region during the summer of 2006, including visits to Nablus, Qalqilyah, and Hebron, Hazan’s eloquent account reveals the complex and devastating impact of the occupation.

With an introduction by celebrated Middle East scholar Rashid Khalidi and an epilogue by activist Michel Warschawski, Notes on the Occupation is a rare portrait of a population living with the reality of war and the dream of peace.