ABSTRACT
There is a general assumption, in Israeli society and internationally, that during the Oslo years and at least up until the onset of the intifada, Palestinians were in control of their lives in the new situation of interim autonomy or ‘self-rule’ resulting from the establishment of the PA and redeployment of the IDF from most Palestinian populated areas. This was not the case. Between 1993 and 2000, the population did gain a degree of freedom inside the Palestinian territorial and functional enclaves provided for by the Oslo agreements (Jericho, Areas A and B of the West Bank, Area H-1 of Hebron, autonomous zones of the Gaza Strip). Yet the Israeli military occupation of the oPt has remained firmly in place, together with the daily humiliation, routine arbitrariness, collective punishment and widespread human rights abuses that the presence of Israeli soldiers and settlers entails for the Palestinian population.
