Crossing a Line: Laws, Violence, and Roadblocks to Palestinian Political Expression

Crossing a Line examines how Palestinians are impacted by dispossession, settler colonialism, and militarism, and how they create collectivities in various circumstances. It looks at political practice in journalism, historical commemorations, street demonstrations, social media, prison, and on the road.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 376 pages
Publication date: 21 June 2022
Publisher: Stanford University Press

Approximately one-fifth of Israeli citizens and around four-fifths of the population of the West Bank are made up of Palestinians residing on various sides of the Green Line. Activists in both groups argue that they are engaged in a unified political struggle for national liberation. However, obstacles hinder their ability to communicate and unite as a collective. Geopolitical boundaries further fragment Palestinians into smaller groups.

Crossing a Line delves into these distinct political environments for expression and action of Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship and Palestinians subjected to Israeli military occupation in the West Bank. It examines how Palestinians are uniquely impacted by dispossession, settler colonialism, and militarism.

Amahl Bishara, the author, looks to sites of political practice, including journalism, historical commemorations, street demonstrations, social media, prison, and on the road, to analyze how Palestinians create collectivities in these varied circumstances. She draws on firsthand research, personal interviews, and public media to examine how people shape and reshape meanings in circumstances of constraint.

In considering these different environments for political expression and action, Bishara illuminates how expression is always grounded in place—and how a people can struggle together for liberation even when they cannot join together in protest.

This book offers valuable insights into the complex dynamics of Palestinian political life and the challenges faced by those seeking to assert their national identity and achieve liberation. It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503632097