Operation Defensive Shield: Witnesses to Israeli War Crimes [Paperback]

Muna Hamzeh (Author), Todd May (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0745320635 | ISBN-13: 978-0745320632

On March 29, 2002 the Israeli army launched Operation Defensive Shield, the largest military offensive against Palestinian civilians since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. During the operation, the military used the most advanced weaponry at its disposal: Merkava tanks, Apache attack helicopters and F-15 fighter jets. When the operation ended on April 21, Israel had destroyed the Palestinian economic and social infrastructure, leveled large swathes of residential area, killed 220 people, injured hundreds more and arrested thousands. This book documents these events through a collection of electronic witness narratives written by Palestinians who were under attack and by Israeli and international peace activists who witnessed the results of these attacks. Deeply moving and courageous, these narratives offer a uniquely powerful and intimate account of the daily reality for Palestinians who endured Ariel Sharon's military strategy, and the death and destruction that strategy has caused throughout the Occupied Territories. Most important, the witnesses' voices bring to life the aggressive nature of this strategy -- they belie the noble motives ascribed to Sharon and those in his government and military who designed and carried it out. The editors argue that Operation Defensive Shield is a prelude to Israel's ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. They provide historical context, a chronology, and an analysis of the conflict that situates the horror of these days in their proper perspective. Operation Defensive Shield: Witnesses to Israeli War Crimes is an essential record for those who want to understand what happened in the West Bank in the spring of 2002, and what it portends for the future of the region.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Always compelling, [Hamzeh's writing] movingly conveys these tragedies, and how, in a tight-knit society on a small patch of land, they are all inter-connected.'" --The Financial Times on Refugees in our Own Land

About the Author

Muna Hamzeh is a Palestinian-American journalist and author who has been writing about the Palestinian issue since 1985. She is author of Refugees in Our Land: Chronicles From a Refugee Camp in Bethlehem (Pluto Press 2001). Todd May is Professor of Philosophy at Clemson University in South Carolina, and the author of five books of philosophy. He has been active in the Palestinian rights movement since 1988, and has also been involved in progressive struggles ranging from divestment from South Africa to gay rights.

Product Details

• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press (May 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745320635
• ISBN-13: 978-0745320632
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,753,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A valuable resource, September 23, 2003

By 

"yuri_p" (Bogota, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Operation Defensive Shield: Witnesses to Israeli War Crimes (Paperback)

A factual account of the Israeli invasion of the West Bank in 2002. There are many independent sources being quoted here, as well as much valuable public record information that has gone unreported or under-reported in the main stream media, like Germany's arms embargo against Israel in April of 2002. A very valuable resource for anyone that wants to know more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general and the invasion of the West Bank by Israeli Defensive Forces in 2002 in particular. This book presents information in a straight-forward fashion and is highly readable. Several accounts by observers seem to contradict themselves, but having checked the sources from organizations such as Human Rights Watch the information is accurate. Recommended - a unique resource in a sea of many books on the subject that lack objectivity.