Zachary Foster is a Jewish historian with a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. He focuses primarily on Palestinian history.
Israel’s blockade of Gaza does indeed violate international law, amounting to collective punishment in flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law.
Independent UN panel, 2011
Conversation summary
- In the nineteenth century, European, American, Russian, and German tourists began to use the name ‘Palestine’.
- The 1948 Arab-Israeli War resulted in displacement of Palestinians and shaped their outlook.
- Hamas began as a charity before evolving into a terrorist group.
- The Israeli government helped Hamas stop negotiations for a two-state solution.
- Hamas won the Gazan elections in 2006, and Israel imposed a blockade.
- The Palestinian fight for self-determination.
Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French.
Mahatma Gandhi
