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As the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war begins to falter and violence escalates in the West Bank, Syracuse University’s Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs hosted Dr. Sa’ed Atshan Tuesday afternoon for a discussion and analysis of humanitarian aid efforts in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Drawing from over a decade of fieldwork, he concluded that humanitarian aid efforts have been misguided, proposing reparations for Palestinians instead of politicized aid packages. When smaller, struggling nations receive aid from world powers, he said, it reinforces a colonial system of dependency and debt for developing countries.

“I posit that if we are attuned to indeterminacy, we cannot analyze how power shapes the social and political dynamics of international aid,” Atshan said. “In critiquing humanitarian aid for reinforcing colonial processes, anthropologists must also be attuned to the contradictions in humanitarian logic and interventions.”

Atshan, an associate professor of peace and conflict studies and anthropology at Swarthmore College, also presented research from his forthcoming book, “Paradoxes of Humanitarianism: The Social Life of Aid in the Palestinian Territories” during the discussion.

On Sunday, Israel began blocking aid packages headed for Gaza after presenting a new version of the initial ceasefire terms. Atshan noted that Palestinians are the largest recipients of humanitarian aid in the world, with 80% of the territories’ population depending on such aid for survival.

This dependency extends to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Atshan said, as the agency faces funding cuts and allegations linking some of its employees to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. As of Jan. 26, UNRWA said it is shutting down operations in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza strip.

Atshan characterized the shuttering of the UNRWA as a broader Israeli strategy to cut off humanitarian aid to an already vulnerable group. In calling attention to issues like the allegations against the agency’s workers, he said Israel undermines the other aid workers that millions of Palestinians have depended on throughout the conflict.

“This is the Israeli strategy,” Atshan said. “(They say) journalists are Hamas, doctors are Hamas, nurses are Hamas, teachers are Hamas. All the men are Hamas, all the women and children are the human shields of Hamas.”

As Israeli forces continue “Operation Iron Wall”, targeting Palestinian refugee camps and displacing thousands, he said the contradictory nature of international assistance becomes increasingly apparent.

Atshan described Palestinians as living in a “police non-state” with two layers of control: the Israeli military occupation and the authoritarian Palestinian Authority. He noted that out of $500 million in U.S. aid to the PA, $350 million went directly to PA security services — forces that often suppress Palestinian protests in coordination with occupying Israeli authorities.

“The technologies of policing, surveillance, interrogation, incarceration and repression that animate the PA security sector apparatus in the West Bank would not be possible without direct funding and training from international donors,” Atshan said.

Israeli forces now operate in areas under PA control by law, while accusing the PA of failing to contain militant groups. Atshan said armed settler militias are running freely in the West Bank, sometimes with Israeli military complicity.
Beyond the immediate crisis, Atshan advocated for a complete reconsideration of how international aid is delivered. He criticized aid organizations for fragmenting assistance by targeting separate demographics rather than families as a whole.

“Why are you disaggregating the family unit into man, woman and child, and creating these different interventions, and not actually addressing the unit as a cohesive unit?” he said.

For some attendees, the presentation offered a chance to engage with challenging perspectives on the ongoing conflict. Ivy Daitch, an SU sophomore studying international relations, said she found value in some of Atshan’s points despite disagreeing with others.

“While I don’t agree with everything he said, it helps me create my opinions towards what should happen after the war,” Daitch said. “It’s so important to remember that no one deserves to die. Everyone is human at the end of the day.”

Ciara Hoyne, regional program manager at the Moynihan Institute, emphasized Atshan’s ability to discuss contentious issues from all perspectives, saying that hearing all viewpoints is crucial when studying global affairs.

She said the institute organized the event because it was important to bring attention to less heard, but important, perspectives like Atshan’s. She said his research aligns with course content and discussion in many contemporary political science and policy studies students.

“Dr. Atshan’s work has been really prominent in the field, and his focus on humanitarian aid brings a more human-centered approach, bridging both sides of the issue,” Hoyne said.

Looking ahead, Atshan proposed that Palestinians could look to U.S. efforts for reparations to Black Americans as an example for future advocacy.

When reparations were first proposed in America, Atshan said many Americans thought it was “crazy.” As the concept becomes more mainstream, the professor said the strategy can be applied to other oppressed groups.

Atshan said he believes in a path toward justice and that the war will eventually find a peaceful solution.

“Injustice can’t last forever. One day the occupation will end, and one day there will be freedom for all,” Atshan said. “We have no choice but to hold on to hope, because hope is what sustains life.”

Published on March 5, 2025 at 1:33 am