Colonial Direct and Indirect Rule in the West Bank in Post-Oslo Era

Abstract

This article analyses the relationship of the West Bank with the occupying state following the signing of the Oslo Accords and the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority in 1994. The analysis focuses on the nature of governance, arguing that the governance in the West Bank combines a pattern of both direct and indirect rule. The article looks at the structural level, based on the creation of a hierarchical structure and the relational level, which reflects the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized and how the former governs the latter. It also looks at the manoeuvering level, by examining the tactics employed to manipulate and dominate the existing system. Manoeuvre is a military concept used against an adversary to control and weaken them and break their will, using various mechanisms. Colonially, it represents the mechanisms to defeat the colonized by creating disruption and instability in their lived reality, indicating the presence of of direct rule. This complex form has led to deep and entrenched colonial control in the West Bank.