The Biggest Prison on Earth: The History of the Israeli Occupation

Following his critically acclaimed investigation of the events leading up to the formation of the state of Israel in 1948, renowned Israeli historian Ilan Pappe now turns his attention to the annexation and occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

The war of 1967 dramatically redrew the map of Israel and Palestine, and changed the lives of millions of people both in the Middle East and across the world. Analysing the historical origins of the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza in the 1920s and 30s, Pappe goes on to examine the bureaucratic apparatus that has been developed to manage this occupation, from the political, legal, financial and even dietary measures to the military and security plans put in place over almost half a century.

Based on exhaustive archival research, NGO records and eyewitness accounts, Pappe s investigation of the biggest prison on earth exposes the brutalising effects of occupation, from the systematic abuse of human and civic rights, such as military roadblocks, mass arrests, property demolitions and house searches, to the forced population transfers, annexation of land, proliferation of unlawful settlements, and the infamous wall that is rapidly turning the West Bank into an open prison.Drawing on the personal stories from both sides of the conflict, this is a brilliantly incisive and moving account of life in the Occupied Territories.