IEMED: The Historical and Political Context of Israel’s War on the Gaza Strip

Israeli and Western political officials often intentionally decontextualise the October 7 events and speak as if they occurred in a historical vacuum and deal with it as an isolated incident of violence or treat it as further evidence of the inherent Arab hatred of Jews. By contextualising these events, we arrive at a different interpretation.

This is not to justify what happened but instead situates the events within a history of dispossession and colonisation. It is therefore essential to understand and assess these events in wider political context, with specific reference to escalating settler attacks in the West Bank and the close surveillance of Palestinians in Israel. 

Conference by Nadia Naser-Najjab, senior lecturer in Palestine Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of University of Exeter.

Moderated by Olivia Glombitza, lecturer in International Relations, Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, UAB, this session is co-organised with the Master’s Degree in International Relations, Security and Development, UAB.