About the Book

This is a critical exploration of Israel‘s curfew-closure-policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through the eyes of CheckpointWatch, an organisation of Israeli women monitoring human rights abuses. It combines observers‘ reports from checkpoints and along the Separation Wall, with information and analysis of the bureaucracy supporting the ongoing occupation and the wider project of ethnic-cleansing. It critically reviews CheckpointWatch‘s transformation from a feminist, radical protest movement and analyses Israeli media representation of the organisation and of human rights activism in general. The author contends that the dilemmas that women activists face, torn between opposition to the occupation and loyalty to the state, reflect political divisions within Israel society as a whole.

Commendations

'This important book offers an insightful perspective of the system of Israeli military checkpoints and blockades in the West Bank, their devastating impact on the Palestinian population, and the arbitrary use of a control mechanism for reasons which often have little to do with security considerations. The first-hand accounts and observations of the Watchers - Israeli women from all walks of life - also provide an interesting insight into how different sectors of Israeli society see - or fail to see - the impact of such a system and its injustices.' - Donatella Rovera, Researcher on Israel and the Occupied Territories, Amnesty International

'It is impossible to guess when and how the harsher Israeli version of the Apartheid Pass System will collapse. When it does, CheckpointWatch will have had an important role in its collapse'. - Amira Hass

Contents

Foreword by Amira Hass
Introduction
Part I: The Context
1. Occupation
2. Bearing Witness
Part II: The Checkpoints
3. The Gateway to Hell
4. The Annexation Wall
Part III: The Observers
5. Dilemmas of Witnessing
6. Representation
7. Conclusion
Appendices
1. Checkpoints Observed 2001-05
2: Complaints Filed in 2004
3. Monthly digest, November 2004

About the Author

Yehudit Kirstein Keshet was born in Wales and has lived in Israel since the late fifties, settling there permanently in 1974.

Academic Adoption Information

This book is used for teaching at the following institutions:

Lancaster University