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As nearly one third of the world's population lives in an area that is in some way touched by war, researchers have long been interested in the varied impacts of conflict on civilians. Many indicators, measuring both physical and mental constructs, have been assessed in war-torn populations from around the world, one of which is health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt) are one region in which copious research on health indicators has been undertaken in an effort to understand how long-term conflict manifests itself in noncombatant populations. However, existing studies focus primarily on indicators within the Palestinian population itself that impact HRQoL, and not on the extent to which the presence of the conflict and its consequences disturb physical and mental health outcomes compared to areas without conflict. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of long-term conflict by comparing HRQoL in the oPt and the neighboring country of Jordan, as well as to assess how demographic factors such as socioeconomic status and household size can moderate or aggravate this impact. The potential mediating factors of insecurity and perceived stress will also be assessed. This study found that the presence of conflict was not the most significant predictor of low HRQoL. The mitigating factor of a traditional foundation of mental resilience in Palestinian culture is addressed as a potential explanation for this result. The implications of this study are wide-ranging, particularly in their ability to contribute to healthcare policy recommendations in war-affected areas, and to bolster our understanding of the health status and needs of those living in these areas.

<p>In this dissertation I examine the contemporary breakdown of critical feminist dialogues so ubiquitous in the 1990s between Israeli and Palestinian women. Building on interviews with Palestinian women that identify a “top-down approach” in dialogues with Israeli anti-occupation feminist activists, this dissertation examines the role of “power inequities,” Orientalism, and “white feminist authority” (Lâm) in forming the discursive environment for even the most critical feminist dialogues. Conducting various discursive analyses of dialogues between Israeli and Palestinian women, I argue that the mainstream exclusivist Israeli feminist movement as well as “critical,” self-titled anti-racist and “anti-occupation” Israeli feminists continue to function with “white feminist authority.” Palestinian women are often pressured to speak through narrow points of entry that prioritize the paradigms of Western feminism and academic theory, namely, anti-nationalism and unitary womanhood/motherhood. These assumptions constitute a feminist paternalism that is similar to Israeli hegemonic discourses that rationalize “exceptional” but necessary violence against the Palestinians. Palestinian women have initiated a comprehensive boycott of status quo dialogues in an effort to create <em>more </em>dialogue. In this way the “silences” of status quo “humaniz[ing]” feminist dialogues (Lorde) which operate through requests for “colonial mimicry” are troubled by the boycott and may ultimately produce future anti-racist and anti-colonial feminist dialogues. The shortcomings of contemporary Western feminism’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” are brought to light in this dissertation while potentials for solidarity-activism across “power inequities” are simultaneously mapped out.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A news story is built up by certain indicators that tell the reader where and at what time the story takes place, who participates in it, and of course, what has happened. Most of them also contain a complicated action, that changes the normal condition into a new one, as well as an outlook on the possible consequences the incident might have led to. The way a story is told, what is said and what is being left out, could have an effect on our thoughts, attitudes and opinions. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a subject that is extensively covered by the media with varying content of information. It developed into yet another war in the summer of 2014, and two of Sweden’s biggest newspapers, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, published hundreds of articles from the ongoing events in the Middle East. A total of 40 of these articles have been analyzed in this study. By using a method of narrative analysis which reveal the indicators first mentioned in this abstract, the author has been able to see the differences and similarities between the newspapers’ articles from the war. The differences in the way the events are told could have an effect people’s opinon and attitudes towards the opposite sides of the conflict.

Nach dem Oslo prozess im Gaza-Streifen und Westjordanland (weiter WJGS), die palästinensische Selbstverwaltung eingesetzt wurde. Die wichtigste Frage, eine Antwort auf die diese Dissertation zu geben versucht, ist: Hat es diese Regierung geschafft, sich in ihrem ersten Jahrzehnt (1994 - 2004) zu einer staatlichen, im Sinne von einer differenzierten, zentralisierten und autonomen Organisation zu entwickeln, die das Gewaltmonopol innehat und in der Lage ist, landesweit verbindliche Gesetze zu etablieren? Die Realität nach dem Oslo-Prozess: Tatsächlich fand eine Konzentration der Macht in den Händen Arafats und einer kleinen regierenden Elite in seinem Umkreis statt. Dies geschah auf Kosten der Mehrheit der Bevölkerung, welcher der Zugang zu staatlichen Institutionen auf nationaler Ebene verwehrt wurde. Dieser Zustand der Marginalisierung der Bevölkerungsmehrheit hemmte die Durchsetzung eines demokratischen Systems nach den Prinzipien Gewaltenteilung, Verantwortlichkeit und Transparenz und erstickte die rechtsstaatlichen Ansätze im Keim. Arafat und die kleine Elite in seinem Gefolge verhinderten nicht nur den Aufstieg eines demokratischen und rechtsstaatlichen Systems, sondern auch das Aufkommen eines Verwaltungssystems, das nach fairen Prinzipien (Leistung, Kompetenz) und nicht nach informellen/persönlichen Kriterien besetzt wurde, klare Spezialisierungen und Hierarchien aufwies sowie durchschaubar war, wie Max Weber vorschlägt. Näher betrachtet, erschwerten der Friedensprozess von Oslo und seine Vereinbarungen den Aufbau von stabilen und reaktionsfähigen politischen Institutionen genauso wie den eines professionellen Verwaltungssystems. Dies geschah, da der Prozess Menschen demobilisierte (aus der Unfähigkeit heraus, die Bestrebungen Palästinas, ein selbstbestimmter souveräner Staat zu werden, wahrzunehmen), außerdem ermöglichte er Arafat und dessen kleiner Machtelite, die Macht bei sich zu konzentrieren und ein halbautokratisches, von patrimonialen Zügen gekennzeichnetes Regime einzuführen, das dem Machthaber ermöglichte, öffentliche Fonds und Institutionen auszunutzen, um sich Loyalität zu sichern und seinem Regime Legitimität zu verschaffen. Als Antwort darauf stärkten die Gegner des Prozesses von Oslo und Arafats, also die Hamas, der Islamische Djihad und PFLP ihre Institutionen und begannen parallel zu den Institutionen der Autonomiebehörde parastaatliche Funktionen auszuüben. Am wichtigsten ist die Tatsache, dass diese Institutionen von den Milizen der politischen Parteien, denen sie angegliedert sind, beschützt werden. Zum Beispiel wird die Al Salah Islamic Society von den Izz El Din El Kassam Brigaden dem militärischen Flügel derHamas beschützt. Die 'Freunde der Märtyrer' sind dem Islamischen Djihad angegliedert und werden vom militanten Flügel der Gruppe, den Al Quds Brigaden beschützt. Dementsprechend ist der Staat - im Sinne einer zentralen Organisation mit Macht zur Autoritätsausübung und einem Gewaltmonopol (wie Joel Migdal vorschlägt) nicht präsent auf der politischen Bühne in Palästina. / In 1994, the Palestinian self-government was established on the Gaza Strip and West Bank (hereinafter WBGS) as result of Oslo process. One of its main challenges of that government was how to deal with this debilitating heritage whilst promoting institutions and institutional capacity building, both of which began gaining momentum from 1994 onwards. However, the reality of the Oslo process has meant that in fact what has occurred is a concentration of power into the hand of the ruling elite (Arafat and the small elite around him) at the expense of the majority of population who were denied access to national level institutions of state functions. This state of the political marginalization (or denationalization) of the majority of population hindered the emergence of a democratic political system based on the principles of the separation of powers, accountability, and transparency, and stifled the emergence of the rule of law. Arafat and the small elite around him had not only hindered the emergence of a democratic political system, and stifled the emergence of the rule of law, but also the emergence of a bureaucratic system with a recruitment system based on achievement rather than informal/irrational criteria (competence), highly specialized and differentiated administrative role of civil servants (differentiation), and well established and thoroughly understandable system of super-ordination and sub-ordination (hierarchy) as Max Weber suggests. In response, the opponents of Oslo process & Arafat- Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and PFLP-had strengthened their institutions, and started to practice Para-state functions parallel to PA institutions (as chapter V shows). These instituions are protected by the militia of the political party with which it is affiliated, like Izz El Din El Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and others. Accordingly, State- in the term of central organization with the power of issuing authoritative binding legal rules and monopolizing coercion (as Joel Migdal suggests)- was absent from the Palestinian scene.

This research questions whether Israel and Palestine should be divided into two states. Viewed through the International Relations (IR) theories of Realism and Liberalism, the ‘Two-State’ solution is the orthodox policy for Israel and Palestine. But Israelis and Palestinians are interspersed and share many of the same resources making it difficult to create two states. So, this research critiques the aforementioned IR theories which underpin the ‘Two-State’ solution. The conclusion reached is that there ought to be new thinking on how to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue.

Next year will the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories celebrate the 50th Anniversary. European Union, the most significant trade partner of Israel as well as the biggest donor of Palestine, was for a long time a mere observer of a situation of deepening of the occupation and postponing of its end because of building of Israeli settlements on the one side and of gradual division of Palestinian territories between radical Hamas and Fatah. Just in the autumn of 2015 the European Union decided to take a restrictive step towards Israel by setting clear rules of labelling of Israeli goods produced in those Israeli settlements. However, a harsh response has come both from the Israeli government and from some of EU member states. Therefore this work focuses on evaluation of the legitimacy of this move and on trying to assess the reason of its partial failure.

This thesis deals with a number of selected peace plans for Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their solutions for the most crucial problems of this area. These problems are: Palestinian refugees, Israeli West Bank settlements, Lack of water resources, Jerusalem and Gaza strip. The first chapter summarizes the history of the development of this area before the formation of the state of Israel until today and also presents the current political situation of Israel. Next chapter continues with the research of these problems, which are almost always present and dealt with by new peace plans. The following chapter introduces selected peace plans and analyzes their encompassed solutions for the selected problems. The thesis ends with a chapter, in which the author attempts to suggest a suitable future scenario for the State of Palestine, which would be acceptable for both sides.

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Palestine is known as the birthplace of Christianity. However the Christian population of this land is relatively insignificant today, despite the continuing institutional legacy that the 19th century Western missionary focus on the region created. Palestinian Christians are often forced to employ politically astute as well as theologically radical means in their efforts to appear relevant within an increasingly Islamist-oriented society. My thesis focuses on two ecumenical Christian organisations within Palestine, the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem (headed by the Anglican cleric Naim Stifan Ateek) and Dar Annadwa Addawliyya (the International Centre of Bethlehem-ICB, directed by the Lutheran theologian Mitri Raheb). Based on my field work (consisting of an in-depth familiarisation with the two organisations in Palestine and interviews with their directors, office-staff and supporters worldwide, as well as data analyses based on an extensive literature review), I argue that the grassroots-oriented educational, humanitarian, cultural and contextual theological approach favoured by the ICB in Bethlehem is more relevant to the Palestinian situation, than the more sectarian and Western-oriented approach of the Sabeel Centre. These two groups are analysed primarily according to their theological-political approaches. One, (Sabeel), has sought to develop a critical Christian response to the Palestine-Israel conflict using the politico-theological tool of liberation theology, albeit with a strongly ecumenical Western-oriented focus, while the other (ICB), insists that its theological orientation draws primarily from the Levantine Christian (and in their particular case, the Palestinian Lutheran) context in which Christians in Israel-Palestine are placed. Raheb of the ICB has tried to develop a contextual theology that seeks to root the political and cultural development of the Palestinian people within their own Eastern Christian context and in light of their peculiarly restricted life under an Israeli occupation regime of over 40 years. In the process, I argue that the ICB has sought to be much more situationally relevant to the needs of the Palestinian people in the West Bank, given the employment, socio-cultural and humanitarian-health opportunities opened up by the practical-institution building efforts of this organisation in Bethlehem.