Description
2002 was a year of massive Israeli army operations, incursions and an unprecedented level of destruction of Palestinian property, including numerous homes, roads, Gaza airport, and other infrastructure facilities. “Operation Defensive Shield,” launched in March, still clings to peoples’ memories, having been one of the worst shows of Israel’s military might and involving the reoccupa¬tion of most of the West Bank for extended periods. Although he book recalls many other events, including the reform efforts on the part of the Palestinian Authority, the Saudi peace initiative, US President Bush’s speech endorsing a Palestinian state, and the release of the ‘Road Map’, the overwhelming images of 2002 will remain those of hundreds of Palestinian martyrs and thousands of wounded, the invasion and siege of Palestinian ci¬ties, the destruction of the Muqata’a and parts of the Jenin Refugee Camp, and the standoff at the Nativity Church in Bethlehem. This Was 2002 provides a comprehensive and chronological account of those and other events that unfolded during that year.
