The matrix of control in East Jerusalem : Palistinian perceptions and modes of resistance

Abstract

Abstract This thesis is about Israeli control over Palestinians and their land in Jerusalem, or what anthropologist Jeff Halper terms the Matrix of Control, and Palestinian perceptions of these policies of control and resistance to them. The Matrix of Control is used by Halper to describe Israeli policies of control through three different and overlapping layers in East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza. The first is the geo-political layer and involves settlements and their master plans. The second layer is legal and bureaucratic, and involves discriminate use of law in fields like urban planning. The third layer is enforcement of these policies through military operations like house demolitions. In this thesis, I use the concept of the Matrix of Control as an analytical tool to explain how Israeli policy at a macro level affects Palestinians in East Jerusalem on a local level. This thesis has primary focus on the bureaucratic layer of control; therefore I review Israeli legal nodes of control. In addition, this thesis deals with Palestinian perceptions and responses, primarily from a civilian and civil society perspective and the concept of sumud, a central concept in Palestinian national resistance which means steadfastness. Therefore I review Palestinian nodes of resistance, amongst them two NGO project responses that are good examples of non-violent, active and asymmetrical resistance to the Matrix of Control in East Jerusalem.