Visual Evidence and the Gaza Flotilla Raid: Extraterritoriality and the Image: Extraterritoriality and the Image

The Gaza 'Freedom Flotilla' incident was a major international flash point in the history of Israel's blockade of the Gaza strip which began in 2007. Here, Maayan Amir explores the lasting political and cultural significance of Israel's storming of the Turkish activists' vessels in international waters, which resulted in the deaths of 9 participants, and the confiscation of all video recordings by the Israeli authorities. Taking as her starting point for the investigation a planned arts project in international waters a year before the raid, Amir analyses the incident through the concept of extraterritoriality. Using the work of theorists such as Emmanuel Levinas, Derek Gregory, Lisa Parks and others, she argues that the seizure of the vessels outside of state jurisdiction and the withholding of much of the video evidence of the incident exemplify the Israeli state's ongoing domination of Gaza. The book argues for the importance of spaces beyond or outside of states' typical jurisdiction and the rights these confer to understanding the way that domination continues to play out in Israel Palestine, and across the political and legal of the Middle East.