COVID-19 in Palestine : the settler colonial context

Israel and Palestine were worlds apart during the pandemic that claimed over five million lives globally.

While Palestinians were forced to adopt crude survival measures and endure economic privations, Israel was praised as a vaccination world leader. This book demonstrates how Israel utilized the pandemic to tighten surveillance and control over Palestine and the Palestinians.

Drawing on theories of settler colonialism and the concept of ‘necropolitics’, the book is a vital testament to the reality of the Israeli settler colonial project today.

The author uses case studies and interviews with Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, Hebron, Kufr Aqab and the Jalazoon refugee camp to understand the lived experiences of Palestinians.

The newest colonial policies are discussed including how Israel activated a counter-terrorism database that could track citizens and ensure they adhered to lockdown regulations.

It also shows how Israel destroyed Palestinian infrastructure essential for water, sanitation and hygiene, leaving Palestinians unable to fight the virus.

The book shows that, for Palestinians, the pandemic was simply the latest in a long line of national catastrophes in a context where settler colonialism prevails.