If you're interested in, or want to know more about, the people of Gaza, read this book. It covers all the major events in Gaza over the past century, but focuses on the last 10-or-so years, when Hamas has been the de facto rulers of the tiny Gaza Strip after unexpectedly winning elections. Since then, the people of Gaza have endured a long economic blockade imposed by Israel, a political boycott by the international community, three major conflicts and isolation from the rest of the world.Uniquely imprisoned, most Palestinians in Gaza cannot travel beyond the confines of the Strip, and in times of war escape is impossible. They live under siege – economic and armed – and yet so many remain courageous, outspoken and steadfast.
Donald Macintyre lays bare Gaza’s human tragedy and reveals how it became a crucible of conflict and a byword for suffering. He identifies the repeated failings – including those of the international community – that have seen countless opportunities for peace pass by. Yet, against all odds, hope for a better future lingers. Gaza was once a flourishing coastal civilization open to the world. Could it be so again?
Don Macintyre, who has spent more time in Gaza than any other international journalist I can think of, tells Gaza's story through its people: farmers, business people, bean sellers, artists, athletes. He writes not just about the horrors and privations people have endured, but the potential of Gaza: how it could thrive in different circumstances.
In particular, he castigates the futility of repeated wars and failures of the international community in turning its back on Gaza and its people.
Full disclosure: as a former Guardian correspondent covering Israel-Palestine, I was a colleague of Don's and helped him cut down the first draft of this book. But that doesn't preclude me from highly recommending this work.
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