Marwan Darweish

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Published as part of the Creating Safer Space Network that seeks to strengthen civilian capacities for nonviolent protection in conflict-affected areas. This book offers a compelling look at how unarmed civilian protection (UCP) practitioners work to enhance the level of security experienced by local Palestinians, supporting community-based resistance to rocketing levels of dispossession and ethnic-cleansing in the occupied West Bank. Drawing on first-hand field research, the authors reveal the daily realities of providing a protective presence against violence and displacement. Crucially, the book highlights the vital role of international UCP solidarity networks in supporting local efforts and examines what difference they can make in the face of increasing levels of settler-violence. It is essential reading for those seeking practical pathways for nonviolent action and global solidarity.

This is a thoughtful and sensitive analysis of the history and significance of non-violent civil resistance in the Palestinian national movement. It shows how the thread of unarmed struggle has run through the history of Palestinian liberation, from the establishment of the Israeli state, through the Nakba and to the present day. Set in this historical context, the book draws upon personal conversations and living history in order to focus on the contemporary movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. By analysing this under-emphasised dimension of the Palestinian struggle, the authors argue that today, the popular resistance movement, especially in the West Bank, is the most significant form of struggle against the ongoing occupation. They also address the international dimensions of the struggle, focusing in particular on the BDS campaign, the role of Israeli and international solidarity activists, and the changing forms of engagement developed by international agencies seeking to work on the roots of the conflict.

This is a thoughtful and sensitive analysis of the history and significance of non-violent civil resistance in the Palestinian national movement. It shows how the thread of unarmed struggle has run through the history of Palestinian liberation, from the establishment of the Israeli state, through the Nakba and to the present day. Set in this historical context, the book draws upon personal conversations and living history in order to focus on the contemporary movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. By analysing this under-emphasised dimension of the Palestinian struggle, the authors argue that today, the popular resistance movement, especially in the West Bank, is the most significant form of struggle against the ongoing occupation. They also address the international dimensions of the struggle, focusing in particular on the BDS campaign, the role of Israeli and international solidarity activists, and the changing forms of engagement developed by international agencies seeking to work on the roots of the conflict.