Death and "De-Planning" in Gaza

Normal
0

Like all of us I have
been watching the carnage in Gaza with concern and growing despair. And like
many people, I have struggled with how best to understand this conflict,
fraught as it is with historic hatreds, accusations and counter-accusations. If
it is at all possible I would like to attempt a pragmatic view, starting with
the recognition that the historic conflict over Palestine concerning land
ownership, use and associated rights may be seen as falling within the spectrum
of issues related to land use planning.

Through this lens, Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories may be seen as being exercised through acts of land use planning, i.e., settlements,
housing, the construction – and often destruction – of infrastructure and
controlling freedom of movement. Denying Palestinians access to land, to
housing, to farming and to employment is carried out by expulsions, demolitions, the tearing up of groves and of course the construction of the
massive and highly controversial "security barrier" along and through the West
Bank.

Finally, all of this
is backed up by military might and, as we now see in Gaza, the willingness to
engage in violence out of all proportion to any stated justifications. At this
writing, almost 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, over 4,000 are injured and
much of Gaza lies in ruins. Also in ruins is Israel's moral standing in the eyes of much of the world:
Tens of thousands of people have been protesting Israel's actions, and there are calls for a
boycott of Israel – to "disinvest" in that
country just as was the case for South Africa in the 1980s (however, the ability of U.S. firms to participate in anti-Israeli boycotts is
constrained by U.S. law).

Many readers of this
site may object to the above. But I would encourage such readers to again
consider our planning perspective: On the APA site, for example, planning is
seen as a profession that  

"works to improve the
welfare of people and their communities by creating more convenient, equitable,
healthful, efficient, and attractive places for present and future generations.
Good planning helps create communities that offer better choices for where and
how people live. Planning helps community members envision the direction their
community grow and will help them find the right balance of new development and
essential services, protection of the environment, and innovative change."

If we as planners are
indeed concerned about "the welfare of people," about equity, about giving
people "choices for where and how" they live, about the provision of "essential
services," and about helping communities envision their own futures, then what
Israel has been doing to Gaza for the past several years should appall us, for
it has been systematically attacking Gazans' every means for fulfilling these
goals. Gaza has, in fact become an "urban prison", as Tom Angotti wrote in the
spring 2008 issue of Progressive Planning:

"All roads and
commerce in and out of Gaza are blocked by the Israeli military. Israel's
economic blockade has resulted in an unemployment rate of 40%, while 80% of the
population relies on food aid Israeli warplanes destroyed Gaza's main power
plant and sewage treatment plant, creating a critical public health crisis.
Many of Israel's European allies have denounced the Israeli siege and economic
blockade as disproportionate responses to the threats against Israel's
security. The Israeli human rights group B'tselem states that over four years
13 Israelis were killed by rockets while in only the last two years over 1,000
Palestinians died, almost half of them civilians Many groups consider this to
be collective punishment or ethnic cleansing in violation of the Fourth Geneva
Convention. Israel's vindictive policy against the civilian population is
summed up in a wry statement by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: ‘We will not allow
them to lead a pleasant life."'

It would appear that
Israel is doing all it can to "un-plan" or "de-plan" Gaza – to make it
unviable, inhospitable and uninhabitable. Yet, despite the deliberate creation
of these terrible conditions, Angotti notes, "Planners in the U.S., even many
who opposed the uprooting of viable communities by the federal urban renewal
program in the 1960s, have failed to raise their voices against the use of U.S.
aid to support these policies."

This silence
continues: I note that the websites of American Planning Association and the
Canadian Institute of Planners make no mention of the conflict or take
a position on it. I hope such will be forthcoming.

But as Tom Angotti urges, one way to become involved is to support the work of the Jerusalem-based
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
which works to address the conflict there by making explicit the connections
between land use and Israel's military control of
Palestine: 

"[ICAHD] connect[s]
the dots to show how the Israeli government's ongoing policies of Palestinian
home demolitions, relentless development of large settlements, and building of
the ‘Separation Barrier' deep into the West Bank are a persistent barrier to
the just and lasting peace we seek. We disclose how the uncritical political
support of the U.S., underwritten and financed with U.S. taxpayer money,
sustains the Israeli Occupation's devastating impact on Palestinians, its
violations of basic human rights, and how these pose a grave threat to the
short and long-term security of Israelis."

As planners – hell, as
human beings – I believe we need to apply in principle to both the Israelis and Palestinians alike the
goals we hold for our own communities. This must start with acknowledging that criticizing the actions of Israel's government does not mean denying Israel's
legitimacy or its need for security, and much less sympathizing with
militant groups like Hamas or their tactics. 

But a just resolution to this crisis will not be
possible while Israel continues to violate international law, engages in
shockingly disproportionate violence, and steadfastly opposes the natural
aspirations of the Palestinian people to access, use, farm, develop and live on lands they can call their own.