Gaza ─ Preparing for Dawn

The Gazans are a uniquely imprisoned people, most of them unable to travel to the West Bank, let alone Israel ? where tens of thousands once worked ? and unable to flee in times of war. Despite the devastation that has been wrought, they remain courageous, outspoken and extraordinarily resilient. From crowded refugee camps to factories still operating in the face of economic siege and bombardments, and from its five busy universities to the hospitals low on equipment but high on skilled and dedicated medical staff, Donald Macintyre provides us with the most comprehensive and most hopeful picture of Gaza yet.

Through the stories of its people and interviews with international and Israeli policymakers, Donald Macintyre explores Gaza’s history, conflicts and struggles. Challenging our assumptions about the fate of the region, he proposes an alternative to the vicious cycle of poverty and redevelopment punctuated by devastating violence that Gaza is seemingly trapped in. He convincingly outlines why, against all received wisdom, Gaza’s potential to be a vibrant and prosperous maritime enclave can be realized and the overwhelmingly positive effect this would have for an emerging Palestine, the people of Israel and beyond.

Donald Macintyre was the Independent’s Jerusalem bureau chief for eight years between 2004 and 2012. He won the Next Century Foundation’s Peace Through Media Prize in 2011 and has previously been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for journalism and for the Martha Gellhorn journalism award.