Format: 210 x 150 mm
Page: 264
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Publisher: Rimal Publications, Cyprus
Year: 2009
ISBN: 9963-610-39-0
ISBN 13: 978-9963-610-39-6

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The latest Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which ended in mid-January this year, was but the latest onslaught on the territory and its inhabitants in a series stretching back over the course of three millennia. As Gerald Butt writes, for those familiar with the history of the region the Israeli bombardments in December and January “evoked echoes of previous ones – the two-month-long siege of Gaza and its ultimate destruction by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, to mention just one example."

The Palestinians of Gaza have long been in the shadow of peoples in neighbouring regions who have been key players in some of the major events of history, and have antiquities on show to prove it. By contrast, much of Gaza ’s historical heritage has been forgotten, or destroyed in countless wars. For decades, Gaza ’s international image has been one of violence and destruction.

Yet this book reveals that Gaza has a rich history. Continuously inhabited for more than 3,000 years at a key strategic crossroads of the region, it has witnessed the rise and fall of dozens of kingdoms and dynasties. As well as considering the early period, the age of the Pharaohs and the Philistines of the Bible, Life At The Crossroads includes accounts of the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras. The coming of Islam, the interlude of the Crusades and the long period of Ottoman domination bring the story up to the First World War. The crucial history of Gaza in the 20^th century is discussed in the period of the British Mandate and the conflicts with Israel.

The book culminates with the two intifadas and the Israeli war on Gaza in 2008-09, explaining the territory’s association with the development of the Islamic movement within the Palestinian community.

Gazans have a fierce determination to see their territory become part of an independent Palestinian nation that incorporates the West Bank . However, as Gerald Butt concludes in this updated edition of Life At The Crossroads, “the battles and blockades, the loss of life and the destruction that Gazans have endured in the past century have shaped their character in a way that has made them tougher and more determined than other Palestinians. They have had to be. The longer that Gazans live separated from the West Bank and the wider Palestinian community, the more likely it is that they will become something akin to a race apart – on territory steeped in history, but with a long experience of war.”

All the invaders who set up camp in the city or on its borders left their mark, before moving on. But what the invaders left in the psyche of the people of Gaza was a hatred of occupation. Centuries of war implanted in the hearts of the inhabitants both a loathing of occupation and the spirit of resistance.  Gaza was at the forefront of the fedayeen resistance after the 1967 war, and the 1987 intifada began in the territory. From Gaza , too, sprang hope and the rivers of dreams. And Gaza has remained, as it is today, a city on the sea, dreaming of the sea.

Extract from a review by Ibrahim Darwish
published in Al-Quds al-Arabi on 25 May 2009

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INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE - Review by John K. Cooley

MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL - Review by Sara Roy

MIDDLE EAST INTERNATIONAL - Deluged by History, review by Michael Jansen

CHURCH TIMES - A Prize for the invaders: the torment of Gaza, review by William Taylor

MIDDLE EAST COUNCIL OF CHURCHES - Review by Nancy G. Scudder