Narratives Under Siege

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights has begun collecting narratives from ordinary Palestinians about what life is like under the siege. These stories are all the more noteworthy right now, during the "truce," because they expose what peace looks like to the Israelis. While Tzipi Livni, that rising star of Israeli politics, is calling for military responses to rocket attacks that result in no casualties, leaders of Hamas are declaring their intent to stop all rocket attacks from Gaza, not just those launched by its members. As Hamas clamps down on violence, Israeli leaders call for more. And as the PCHR narratives show, this negotiating takes place on top of the slow, grinding violence of the occupation. The picture at left is a drainpipe which empties into a beach where Palestinian children swim.