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In 1986, a great deal had already been written about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though most of this work was primarily concerned with the West Bank… and Gaza was almost an afterthought. As far as I know, Paul Cossali and Clive Robson’s Stateless In Gaza (Zed Books, 1986) was one of the first books to deal with Gaza in an informal, people’s history sort of way. And it remains the only effort… Of course, “first” and “only” do not necessarily imply greatness, but Stateless In Gaza is an interesting (if occasionally scattered) look into the opinions and attitudes of pre-Intifada Gazans.

“Abdel Salam was the first person in our village to build a house out of stone—he had lots of money and contacts with the foreigners.” Thus begins the inauspicious opening of Stateless In Gaza, from there continuing to anecdote after anecdote as a series of seemingly endless tales of hardship and personal sacrifice. In this way, the various Palestinian narrators describe aspects of Gaza’s history beginning with the nakba of 1948 and passing through the Egyptian and Israeli occupations up to (the present day at the time of the book’s publishing) 1986.

Because Stateless In Gaza is now over two decades old, some may dismiss its importance for predating such crucial events as the two Initifadas, the peace process and the Oslo Accords. Certainly life in Gaza has changed a great deal since 1986—and not for the better—but I think Stateless In Gaza is unique in that it offers a glimpse into the uncertain period of occupation prior to the Palestinian uprising.

Composed almost entirely of firsthand interviews with Palestinians in Gaza, Stateless In Gaza is divided into four general sections spanning Gaza’s turbulent history: Dispossession, Society, Occupation, and Resistance. Doctors, landowners, artisans, laborers, Islamic fundamentalists, left-wing intellectuals and everyday Palestinians all offer their experiences and opinions with surprising candor.

Most interesting is the way the book links the historical anecdotes, offering external context when needed and explaining historical events aimed at an audience unfamiliar with the region’s history. In this way the structure is extremely effective when covering the Palestinian expulsion in 1948—described entirely by those who actually experienced it. The importance of firsthand reviews cannot be overstated… As Hegel once wrote, they “bind together what is vanishing down the stream of time, and place it in the Temple of Memory to give it immortality.” For the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this is even more relevant; variations of historical/national narratives have always played a prominent role in reconciliation efforts in the holy land.

Because of the interview format, many of the anecdotes are disturbingly vivid. Early into the book, one man describes witnessing the early Zionists preparing for the expulsion of the Palestinians prior to 1948:

“The Jews got together with our notables and won them over. We didn’t realise it was just to protect themselves. We thought it was genuine friendship but we were deceived. Once I saw them training their kids—all lined up practising on the wasteland. We never thought it was military training or that it would be used against us.”

Unfortunately, there is no description of the editors and one is left wondering about the relationship of Cossali and Robson to the Gaza Strip. Perhaps this information was intentionally withheld as a way of placing the Palestinian storytellers above the editors. Who knows? At the end of the day, Stateless In Gaza remains a fascinating read, if only for its uniquely temporal niche in the annals of Israeli-Palestinian conflict literature.