The discourse of Oslo : 'neutrality', the practice of power and Palestinian children

Abstract

This paper examines the ways in which a particular discourse has shaped dominant conceptions of the Palestinian Intifada and configured the approach of the human rights community and others to events in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Termed the 'Oslo Discourse', the author argues that because of its claim to neutrality and objectivity and a binary definition of peace/violence, this discourse has served to obscure relations of power within the occupied territories. Based on an ahistorical approach to the Israeli occupation that focuses on military conflict rather than a strategic understanding of an overall system of control, the Oslo discourse serves to maintain and uphold the dominant relations of power in the region. Through a focus on Palestinian children and the discussions of Israel by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2002, the author argues that the Oslo discourse has directly led to a failure to address the root issues that underlie the current Palestinian uprising, the second Intifada. The paper suggests an alternative approach to understanding the situation in the occupied territories based on a conception of power grounded in history.