Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom is a book about the Gaza Strip by the American political scientist and activist Norman Finkelstein. It was published in 2018 by the University of California Press.^[1]

Summary

The book is about the Gaza Strip and Israel's treatment of it. It goes through the situation of Gaza's population, caused by a massive influx of Palestinian refugees and Israel's blockade of the territory. The book covers Israel's deadly operations against Gaza since 2004, most notably Operation Cast Lead of 2008–2009, Operation Pillar of Defense of 2012 and Operation Protective Edge of 2014, and how Israel justifies its actions by appealing to a right to self-defense. Finkelstein argues that Israel's actions are in clear violation of international law. He argues that the promises of international law and the concept of human rights, represented by organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations Human Rights Council, have failed in the case of Gaza. Finkelstein dismisses much of what American mass media have produced about Gaza as reflecting the Israel lobby.^[2][1]

Reception

Nubar Hovsepian wrote in the Journal of Palestine Studies that the book is "overwhelming, but a must-read nevertheless".^[2] Publishers Weekly highlighted the amount of documentation the book uses to support its content and wrote that "readers with fixed positions, either in agreement or disagreement with Finkelstein, will find much to engage with here".^[1]