The ABC of the OPT
A Legal Lexicon of the Israeli Control over the Occupied Palestinian Territory

A lexicon of the legal, administrative, and military terms and concepts central to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories.

Orna Ben-Naftali (Author), Michael Sfard (Author), Hedi Viterbo (Author)

9781107156524, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 10 May 2018

580 pages
23.5 x 15.7 x 3.4 cm, 0.94 kg

'In The ABC of the OPT, Orna Ben-Naftali, Michael Sfard and Hedi Viterbo offer a guidebook for the legal tourist - a narrated cartography to the strange legal planet that has become Israel/Palestine … Fleshing out the concepts, doctrines and toolkits of rule that make up the legal terrain of the world's longest remaining occupation, the format of the lexicon revives the colonial and imperial phantoms that have created international law, and how those legacies are used today by the Israeli state against the Palestinian population in the occupied territories and beyond. Since one of the most powerful tools of colonial rule has been the creation of colonial knowledge, and the transformation of the world of the subjects through administrative, economic and physical means of violence, … the use of the lexicon seeks to cut through the colonial political grammar of the occupation.' Yael Berda, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Israel's half-a-century long rule over the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and some of its surrounding legal issues, have been the subject of extensive academic literature. Yet, to date, there has been no comprehensive, theoretically-informed, and empirically-based academic study of the role of various legal mechanisms, norms, and concepts in shaping, legitimizing, and responding to the Israeli control regime. This book seeks to fill this gap, while shedding new light on the subject. Through the format of an A-Z legal lexicon, it critically reflects on, challenges, and redefines the language, knowledge, and practices surrounding the Israeli control regime. Taken together, the entries illuminate the relation between global and local forces - legal, political, and cultural - in Israel and Palestine. The study of the terms involved provides insights that are relevant to other situations elsewhere in the world, particularly with regard to belligerent occupation, the law's role in relation to state violence, and justice.

Introduction
A. Assigned residence
B. Border/barrier
C. Combatants
D. Deportations
E. Export of knowledge
F. Future-oriented measures
G. Geneva law
H. House demolition
I. Investigations
J. Jewish settlements
K. Kinship
L. Lawfare
M. Military courts N. Nomos
O. Outside/inside
P. Proportionality
Q. Quality of life
R. Regularization, law of
S. Security prisoners
T. Temporary/indefinite
U. Usufruct, rules of
V. Violence
W. War crimes
X. X rays
Y. Youth
Z. Zone.

Subject Areas: International organisations & institutions [LBBU], International law of territory & statehood [LBBJ], Public international law [LBB], International law [LB], Law [L], International institutions [JPSN], Geopolitics [JPSL], Diplomacy [JPSD], International relations [JPS], Politics & government [JP]