The Writing on the Wall
Rethinking the International Law of Occupation

A critical analysis of Israel's control of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, advocating a normative and functional approach.

Aeyal Gross (Author)

9781316509326, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 24 March 2017

456 pages, 1 table
22.8 x 15.1 x 2.5 cm, 0.64 kg

'One of the interesting observations Aeyal makes in his important new book The Writing on the Wall, is that new forms of control are radically challenging the law of occupation. Traditionally, occupation has been understood as a question of fact:  territory will be considered occupied if there are 'boots on the ground' that demonstrate effective control. However, as Aeyal notes throughout the book, the law of occupation is fraught with complex realities. One of these realities is that new forms of technological and political control are increasingly relevant to the law of occupation.' Kristen Boon, Opinio Juris

As Israel's control of the Occupied Palestinian Territory nears its fiftieth anniversary, The Writing on the Wall offers a critical perspective on the international law of occupation. Advocating a normative and functional approach to occupation and to the question of when it exists, it analyzes the application of humanitarian and human rights law, pointing to the risk of using the law of occupation in its current version to legitimize new variations of conquest and colonialism. The book points to the need for reconsidering the law of occupation in light of changing forms of control, such as those evident in Gaza. Although the Israeli occupation is a main focal point, the book broadens its compass to look at other cases, such as Iraq, Northern Cyprus, and Western Sahara, highlighting the role that international law plays in all of these cases.

Introduction
1. The ends and fictions of occupation: between fact and norm
2. The indeterminacy of occupation: from conceptualism to the functional approach
3. Indeterminacy and control in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
4. The construction of a wall between The Hague and Jerusalem: humanitarian law or a Fata Morgana of humanitarian law
5. The securitization of human rights: are human rights the emperor's new clothes of the international law of occupation?

Subject Areas: Military & defence law [LNDK], Human rights & civil liberties law [LNDC], Military administration [JWJ]