Employing the Enemy

Thousands of Palestinians, including children, are building and working on illegal Israeli settlements. Their bitter toil entails a daily rejection of their rights and subjects them to dangerous working condition. _Employing the Enemy_ is a deeply moving narrative that paints a faithful portrait of these workers and their families. Matthew Vickery explores not only the rationale, emotions and consequences of such employment but also why and how people collude with their own oppression. In doing so he draws attention to a previously neglected aspect of the Palestinian experience, exposing these practices as a new, insidious form of state-sponsored forced labour.

About the Author

Matthew Vickery is senior commissioning editor for _e-International Relations_ and a British Research Council in the Levant language scholar. He has written for _Al-Jazeera_, _New Internationalist_, _openDemocracy_, _Middle East Eye_, and the _Herald_, among other media.