Special Substacker Book Review of "Israel-Palestine, The Russian Factor, and the End Game" by Jerry Marchant

Trigger Warning: There are mentions of the Israel-Palestine conflict, including political violence, antisemitism, cultural violence, and unrest. Please use caution while reading this content.

Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash

Note: Jerry Marchant has personal experience with this subject as an “academic and observer” (page 3) in Hebron, where he consulted with legal workers and crossed military checkpoints. Jerry focuses on how Palestine’s story is shaped by “global forces . . . that manipulate, and marginalize its trajectory.” Jerry’s overarching goal with this manuscript is to seek the truth while also speaking out in the face of injustice through a “geo-political analysis and personal observation.” Here, Marchant completed fieldwork in “early 2017,” which revolved around Hebron, a significant city “in the West Bank.” Jerry’s goal here was to show the “realities of occupation, civil resistance, and mechanisms of social and legal resilience under siege” through the “auspices of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC)” (pages 5-6).

Foreword

As someone who doesn’t know very much about the Israel-Palestine conflict, I’m very grateful to people like Jerry Marchant who not only understands the scope of a polarized crisis such as this one, but has real-life experience of being on the sidelines as a witness. Not only that, Marchant also hones in on Russia’s influence in this conflict and how to strategically re-balance this conflict in the name of “diplomacy” (page 9).

Chapter 1

In this chapter, Marchant explains how the city of Hebron became a scapegoat and “geo-political theater” where “history, urban policy, military doctrine, settler ideology, and international law converge” (page 12). Hebron has Biblical origins with the burial of the Patriarchs, and has intertwined Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions. With that being said, the city was entrenched in theology until the British Mandate stepped in, and the 1929 massacre of 67 Jewish people occurred in Hebron after Zionist immigration and Arab nationalism started taking shape there (page 13).

Along with the British forces evacuating Jewish individuals due to antisemitism, Hebron was already afflicted by outside influences that seemed to want to colonize the citizens and spread nationalist policies. After the British Mandate policies, Marchant mentions that Hebron came into the Six-Day War and then went under Israeli occupation. Here, the landscape of Hebron went through a 180 degree change.

To be able to manage this and take back some control, the Hebron Protocol was defined in 1997 to divide Hebron into two areas: H1 (Palestinian-administered) and H2 (Israeli-controlled) (page 14). While H1 was the largest fraction of land that was under Palestinian control, H2 takes up almost a quarter of Hebron’s land where 800 settlers and more than 30,000 Palestinians were affected by Israeli control (page 15).

To indicate how much control that Israel actually has over H2, they have several military checkpoints, roadblocks, barriers, and constant surveillance. There is no way that Palestinian peoples and the settlers have ever felt safe, and have felt more unsafe than ever at this point.

The cause and effect of all this? No one wants to come out, and Marchant indicates that these areas in H2 have become ghost streets. With “shuttered storefronts and barbed-wire fences,” it’s very apparent that massacres have happened there (page 17). Due to this, Palestinians enter some areas through rooftops or back alleys (page 17).

The main goal of Israeli occupation in Hebron is to show “permanence” and to completely wipe out Palestinians from Hebron (page 18). Hebron is also being turned into a site for a totalitarian government, where there are CCTV networks, facial recognition systems, and watchtowers (page 19). This kind of surveillance is cruel and meant to make Palestinians submit to every policy they implement—its a form of continuous torture.

H2 also completely separates settlers and Palestinians with dual law enforcement (former conforms to civil law, the latter military law). Palestinians are tried for minor offenses, which Marchant says violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, which “prohibits the transfer of civilians into occupied territory and requires equal legal protections” (page 20).

Due to the constant massacres, apartheid, and invading influences to Hebron, the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee was developed. This was done to preserve the architectural build of Hebron and also to meet these negative forces with legal resistance (page 21). This will also keep settlers accountable, restore buildings, preserving cultural heritage, and filing legal petitions against settlers who commit violence against Palestinians.

As we are too well-aware, foreign policy is almost never respected the way that it should be, because at least one country or region is seeking domination and to expand their land. This is how it has happened with the United States, who is allies with Israel, and how Israeli forces are treating the Palestinians in Hebron. Russia is currently maintaining relations with Hamas and Fatah while hosting Palestinian reconciliation, the European Union supports HRC, and the United Nations recognizes that Hebron is “in danger,” but prefers veto politics and has a lack of enforcement capacity (page 23).

If we recall how in the United States’ history when Jim Crow laws existed to segregate white and black people, this is exactly what is happening to Palestinians—on a cultural, military, and legal level.

Chapter 2

Due to the ways in which other geo-political forces have shaped Hebron, the law cannot simply be about order. It needs to represent the resilience of the people, which is what the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee is for. It was established by Yasser Arafat to combat the issues Hebron was facing, particularly in the “Old City” (page 28). The initial goal was to restore the original Ottoman-architect of Hebron, but in understanding a deeper need, transitioned into providing resources for better legal stability and diplomacy with Palestinians (page 28).

However, to be able to carry out a lot of these services in H2, it is a political act to do so. However, that has not stopped the HRC from working to prevent vacancy in homes, reclaiming visibility, and affirming Palestinian presence in a city that is originally theirs (page 30).

Palestinians are governed by the military law that was built by the Israeli military called the Emergency Regulations of 1945 (page 32). Some of this interference happened before and after World War II, and it hasn’t stopped. HRC steps in though, and they can file injunctions in Israeli courts to block demolitions, represent residents in property disputes, and bring testimony to UN rapporteurs and human rights forums (page 32).

Just as in any legal system, it’s always important for the defense to document everything going on to use against a system that supports an “institutional bias” (page 33). When HRC documents disturbances, infractions, violence, the HRC has to send them to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Human Rights Watch, and UNESCO (page 34).

The United States doesn’t provide direct support to HRC (typical), and also defunded UNESCO because Hebron was designated as “Palestinian heritage” and the Trump administration looks at HRC work as “politicized” (even though the HRC are literally protecting Palestinians from tyranny) (page 38). The European Union is more helpful in this case by funding HRC through cultural grants, but they also trade with Israel (page 38). Russia has praised HRC efforts and hosted HRC-aligned Palestinian officials in Moscow reconciliation conferences (page 39). NGOs coordinate field reporting with HRC staff (page 39).

Chapter 3

Marchant starts out this chapter with the argument that we are past the concept of “war and peace” in the Israel-Palestine conflict, citing that they are actually in a “strategic deadlock” (page 44). What this means is that the military has worked to try to keep Palestinians under military control, rhetorical diplomacy, and working to get a global consensus on inaction (page 44).

Here, Marchant speaks on the historical trajectory of Palestine, starting with The Balfour Declaration in 1917 that promised a “national home for the Jewish people,” but as we know, this didn’t happen (page 45). The land was also already populated by Arab Palestinians. When the British Mandate was set in stone, this all changed: Jewish immigration went up, and Arab resistance was criminalized while the British kept control and promised autonomy to both (false promises; the British quite literally have a history of colonialism that is still happening in regions like Zimbabwe, but I digress).

Then crap hit the fan—the 1947 UN Partition Plan thought of two possible states in mind—one that was Arab, and one Jewish (which invites segregation). Of course, Arab states and Palestinian elites rejected this, which catapulted them into war and the expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians and destruction of villages (called the Nakba) (pages 45-46). Only one state emerged, which was Israel. This is when nationalism was born, and a Palestine state never happened.

I’ve talked about displacement before in indigenous communities, and to learn about it at such a scale is horrifying to me. It seems to always take place right after massacres, large wars, and an apartheid. As we know, Manifest Destiny was something put into effect by Thomas Jefferson, and American troops went and massacred and displaced so many indigenous peoples from their lands. This is exactly what is happening to Palestine by Israel.

Israel seized land to expand out of strategy and “long-term annexation” (pages 46-47). The Oslo Accords, however, helped Israel recognize the Palestinian Authority (page 47). This came with a price though: this split apart Palestinian governance through Area A (full PA control), Area B (shared), and Area C (Israeli-controlled) (pages 47-48). With that being said, the Oslo Accords wasn’t necessarily a solution. Especially after electing certain people into power who couldn’t agree, it was shown that there is no consensus among Israeli leadership for Palestine statehood (page 50).

The Second Intifada was the uprising that completely shattered any kind of mutual recognition (not that there was much in the first place). This led Israel to reoccupy major cities and build the Separation Wall (page 52). Low and behold, you get a political division, two governments, and no state (page 53).

The United States continues to fund Israel’s army and defense, with American troops over in Israel currently. This is extremely counter-productive to the issues that Palestine has faced for a very long time. However, Russia and China are working to support Palestine through opposing annexation plans and a four-point peace plan (page 55).

Marchant argues that there are three possible alternatives to change the political landscape of Israel and Palestine, but that there is a possible option of a bi-national state (probably won’t work due to Israeli opposition), confederalism (shared sovereignty between two states), status quo (most probable), and collapse that opens up negotiations again (page 58).

Chapter 4

Marchant speaks here about how the aspect of “disappearance” is intentional through the outcome of conflict, international neglect (lack of geo-political forces that could potentially help Palestine), and occupation (page 62). Disappearance happens in three ways: territorial, legal, and epistemological (pages 63-64). Marchant focuses on how displacement and disappearance of a people can happen across regions, but in the case of Palestine, this disappearance is in peace processes, security discourse, and humanitarian frameworks (page 64).

Palestinians are virtually cut off from Area C, Jerusalem, AND Area C (page 66). Occupation like checkpoints and military zones literally prevent Palestinian geography from expanding at all. 62% of the West Bank is off-limits to Palestinians, and the military law applies to Palestinians in the West Bank (page 66). Israel also is granted ownership over property when owners flee, while legal status is removed from Palestinians who find residence outside the city (page 68).

However, Palestinians fight hard against resisting disappearance through the Palestinian Oral History Archive, art and cinema that challenges narrative erasure, and legal documentation through movements that refuse displacement (page 76).

Chapter 5

You might wonder how Russia factors into the Israel-Palestine conflict. As discussed earlier, they are trying to navigate peaceful relations and are actively seeking them out for Palestine. As of recently, The United States hasn’t worked on “stabilizing multipolarity” as other countries have, and Russia is doing just that for Palestine. After the Soviet Union collapse, Moscow has worked to define rebalance and order for Palestine (page 80). While Russia uses theological control over their own citizens, they are actively working to stabilize Palestine.

The Soviet Union included Arab nationalism and gave support to the Palestine Liberation Organization. While the Soviet Union was severely flawed, they made sure to provide support to those countries in the Middle East. Moscow was also the first to recognize Palestine as a state (page 81).

When Russian foreign policy was transferred to Vladimir Putin, he wanted to engage with regional powers, stick to realistic commitments, and support state sovereignty (page 83). Marchant also talks about how Russia’s military intervention in Syria was a “watershed” (page 84). This cemented Russia’s presence in foreign affairs again, and is a serious political actor in mediating conflicts between countries facing political unrest (page 85).

While still in full support of Palestine, Russia maintains ties with Israel, most likely to balance peace and to keep the two balanced. They are also prominent in trade relations (page 86). Russia’s ability to strategically manage foreign affairs is something that some countries struggle with doing, but Russia doesn’t allow their criticism of Israeli policy get in the way of their ties.

Russia also has a lot of powerful influence to give to these countries, including arms sales, energy diplomacy, and cyber and security cooperation (pages 87-88). The Moscow Process focuses on a multiparty perspective and is grounded in sovereignty (page 89).

Chapter 6

The idea of co-existence is strained in the context of this conflict. Between the years 1937 and 1947, the international communities wanted to work out partition as a solution to the conflict in Palestine (page 96). It seemed simple enough: divide the land between two peoples with competing claims (page 96). Essentially, driving a mediator between two fighting people and break it up.

Palestine used to exist in an imperial system designed under Ottoman rule. When Ottoman rule ended, British colonial rule occurred and that turned out disastrous for Palestine. The Peel Commission then came out, which spoke to how badly the British mandate failed (page 98). So, the recommendation was a partition of the territory. This showed that Jewish statehood would be realized by separation instead of integration (page 99).

Britain then had the bright idea of launching the Woodland Commission, which would look into partition more. They found that it would be virtually impossible due to the fact that there is an economic inter-dependence of Arab and Jewish zones, infrastructure complications, and violence provoked due to population transfers (page 100).

Britain tried their hand at co-existence again between Israel and Palestine through securing Arab allegiance and issuing the White Paper of 1939, which essentially limited Jewish immigration (antisemitic policy) restrict land sales to Jewish people (also antisemitic) promised an independent Palestine governed by Arabs and Jewish people (page 101). Obviously, there was an issue with this due to the antisemitic provocation behind this. Since World War II was occurring and Britain wasn’t sure what to do next, they turned this situation over to the United Nations in 1947 (page 103). What do you think they said? Have a partition. Which Palestine rejected because they would have lost a lot of their personal history. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War is what ended any idea of partition for good (page 106).

Chapter 7

Marchant makes the point here that since the peace-framework that the U.S. created won’t stick, who will stand up for Palestine—the Russian Federation maybe? Their plan may consist with an alternative logic that may be able to help Palestine come out of this conflict (page 113). Russia consistently upholds key principles in international law that some countries don’t even think about or strategize.

Final Thoughts

Jerry Marchant’s focus on diplomacy and geo-political factors and agents that remain accountable are such strong points of this manuscript. The slow transition to the fact that Russia is one of those positive agents for Palestine’s re-emergence into history was done so well, and I appreciated all of the field notes that Marchant kept from his time as a witness in Hebron. The bibliography he presented, along with the note and foreword into this manuscript was written with outstanding expertise.

I also really appreciated the way that Marchant included notes at the end of this manuscript after the last chapter that were not summaries, but a continued framework of what could change if international forces actually began to understand the scope of foreign policy in the Israel-Palestine conflict. I also loved Marchant’s bio at the beginning that expresses his well-rounded knowledge of international conflict and where he stands as an academic and witness. His testimonial to this manuscript was fleshed out beautifully, and I can’t wait for you all to read this.

Jerry: The only structural aspect in this manuscript I would suggest is to put a dedication page right before your note about this manuscript (very first page, or you could put it on the second page). This manuscript wowed me, and it felt like I was reading a mixture of a testimonial and a text book that actually tells events truthfully. Outstanding work, my friend.

Make sure to check out Jerry Marchant’s ISRAEL-PALESTINE, THE RUSSIAN FACTOR, AND THE END-GAME: UNABRIDGED EDITION on Amazon!