Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Anne Irfan, "A Short History of the Gaza Strip"
Host: Joe Williams
Guest: Dr. Anne Irfan
Date: December 2, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Joe Williams interviews historian Dr. Anne Irfan about her new book, "A Short History of the Gaza Strip." The conversation centers on Gaza's modern history, the origins and consequences of displacement, key turning points since 1948, and why a contextual and historicized understanding of the Gaza Strip is crucial for policy and public discourse. Dr. Irfan emphasizes the importance of moving past simple or ahistorical narratives and foregrounds both firsthand experiences and structural forces that have shaped Gaza's past and present.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Understanding the Nakba as the "Start" of the Gaza Strip

• Distinction between Gaza and the Gaza Strip:
  Dr. Irfan clarifies that Gaza as a city is ancient, but the Gaza Strip is a modern political entity, created in 1948 as a direct outcome of the Nakba—the mass displacement caused by Israel’s establishment.

  • "The Gaza Strip is something much more modern and much more recent that was essentially a product of 1948... the Nakba is an Arabic word that translates as disaster or catastrophe." (03:30)

• Nakba and the Gaza Strip's Population:
  After 1948, the population of Gaza swelled from about 80,000 to over 280,000 due to an influx of refugees, making Gaza unique in the region as a majority-refugee territory.

  • "…in Gaza we're talking about, you know, more than half of the population after 48 are Nakba refugees. So that's hugely significant." (04:40)

2. Modern Political History, not 'Ancient Hatreds'

• Critique of Primordial Narratives:
  Dr. Irfan rebuffs the tendency to blame current conflicts on ancient or religious hatreds, asserting that the core issues are modern, political, and deeply tied to displacement and border regimes.
  • "This narrative that often comes up, that it's ancient and primordial... really doesn't stand up to the history." (06:43)
  • "It's also, I would argue, many of the driving forces behind it are very, very modern phenomena." (06:54)

3. The Six Phases of Gaza’s History (since 1948)

• Dr. Irfan structures recent Gaza history into six key phases:
  1. The Nakba (1948)
  2. First Israeli Occupation (1956)
  3. Second Israeli Occupation (1967, lasting to the present)
  4. The First Intifada (1987)
  5. Oslo Accords and the rise of the Palestinian Authority (1990s)
  6. The Hamas electoral victory and split with the West Bank (2006–2007)
• Rationale:
  "Gaza has pretty much always had what I call in the book this outsized significance..."
  • "At each of these moments, Gaza has this centrality to Palestinian politics, Israeli politics, Middle Eastern politics, sometimes even international politics..." (09:33)
• Geographic and demographic paradox:
  Despite its small size and lack of religious sites or strategic resources, Gaza’s 'outsized significance' can only be understood through this historical lens.

4. Oslo Accords – Continuity Over Change

• Critical Appraisal:
  Dr. Irfan assesses that Oslo brought little real change; rather, it entrenched many existing structures that maintained occupation and limited Palestinian autonomy.
  • "It's fairly undisputed now that there was a lot more continuity than change." (11:41)
• Main Points:
  • Oslo created the Palestinian Authority with limited autonomy, but lacked mechanisms for ending occupation or achieving statehood.
  • The process allowed continued Israeli settlement expansion, further undermining prospects for a two-state solution.
• Quote:
  "It ended up doing was actually facilitating the Israeli occupation..." (14:29)

5. The Nakba as an Ongoing Process

• Concept of 'Ongoing Nakba':
  The Nakba is not just a one-time event of 1948, but a structural, ongoing process involving continued displacement and enforced immobility.
  • "If the ultimate purpose and function of the Nakba is the expulsion and exclusion of the Palestinians from their homes... it's the combination of that original displacement with what you could call immobility..." (16:36)
• Examples:
  • Continuing denial of refugee return
  • Cycles of displacement—both local (for settlement expansion) and international (exile, population transfer proposals)
  • Modern instances of mass displacement during recent conflicts

6. Refugeehood as a Permanent Demographic and Political Condition

• Centrality of Refugee Identity:
  Gaza’s political significance and reputation for 'radicalism' within Israeli discourse traces directly to its majority-refugee demography and continued demands for return.
  • "Gaza encapsulates historically and today the most extreme elements of the Palestinian experience..." (21:04)
• Cyclical Displacement:
  During recent escalations, almost 2 million Gazans have been displaced, but this repeats an entrenched cycle rather than being a truly novel event.

7. The Importance of Historicized Policy Understanding

• Danger of 'Year Zero' Narratives:
  Limiting focus to recent events (e.g., starting policy analysis from October 7, 2023) erases essential context.
• Policy Critique:
  Western policy, especially from the US, is critiqued for historical illiteracy, as seen in plans for permanent Gaza relocation, which fail to appreciate both the depth of attachment to place and the legacies of prior policies.
  • "[...] the Oslo process had a very limited historical understanding of the situation, and that's one reason why it was never going to work." (24:30)

8. Personal Testimony and the Human Side of Gaza

• Beyond Statistics:
  Including firsthand Palestinian narratives counters the dehumanization caused by reducing suffering to numbers, and reveals ordinary aspects of life under extraordinary conditions.
  • "There's a lot more to this history than that. And I think showing the individual experiences and testimonies of people is one way to try and convey that." (28:17)
• Broader Palestinian Politics:
  Dr. Irfan emphasizes the diversity of political ideas and activism in Gaza’s history, including socialism, feminism, nationalism, and creative resistance—not just violence.

9. Ceasefires, Partition, and Chronic Violence

• Ceasefire Realities:
  The recent ceasefire has been violated hundreds of times, with continued Palestinian deaths:
  • "The latest estimate I saw is that Israel has violated the ceasefire more than 500 times since then." (31:37)
• Historical Recurrence:
  Current discussions of permanent partition and forced relocation echo the logic and effects of the Nakba, underlining history's continued relevance to the present situation.
  • "...it's almost like this continuing shrinkage of the territory and this continuing confinement." (33:17)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On misconceptions about Gaza’s history:
  "This narrative that often comes up... that it's ancient and primordial... really doesn't stand up to the history." – Ann (06:43)

• On shifts in policy focus:
  "...the Oslo Accords in Substance were not really designed to bring about transformative change." – Ann (11:44)

• On the ongoing Nakba:
  "...it's the combination of that original displacement with what you could then call immobility or confinement." – Ann (16:44)

• On the impact of using personal stories:
  "Introducing personal testimony definitely is one way to try and counter [the reduction to statistics]..." – Ann (27:30)

• On current policies echoing past injustices:
  "...it's another way in which this history can help actually illuminate a lot of the dynamics of today and can also push against this chronology that limits us to just the last two years." – Ann (33:08)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Research Background: 01:50 – 02:58
• Defining the Nakba & Genesis of the Gaza Strip: 03:30 – 06:20
• Modern political origins vs. 'ancient hate' narrative: 06:22 – 07:33
• Six Phases of Gaza’s Post-1948 History: 08:05 – 10:39
• Oslo Accords—Continuity & Change: 11:32 – 15:03
• Ongoing Nakba and Cycles of Displacement: 15:42 – 19:57
• Refugeehood and Demographic Impact: 19:57 – 23:36
• Policy Analysis and Historical Context: 24:16 – 26:23
• Personal Testimony & Humanizing the Story: 26:23 – 30:59
• Ceasefire Violations & Contemporary Parallels: 31:27 – 34:15

Conclusion

Dr. Anne Irfan’s "A Short History of the Gaza Strip" provides a concise, politically and historically rigorous framework for understanding Gaza’s present by illuminating the structural processes of displacement, demographic transformation, and entrenched conflict. By resisting ahistorical simplifications and foregrounding both structural analysis and lived experience, Irfan’s work offers vital context for scholars, policymakers, and the broader public seeking to engage meaningfully with the question of Gaza.