Defining borders and people in the borderlands : EU policies, Israeli prerogatives and the Palestinians

Abstract

This article investigates the rules and practices pertaining to visa regimes and the crossing of borders across the European Union, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Their consideration as three interlinked entities rests on the high degree of EU–Israeli interdependence, the EU's deep involvement in the Palestinian territories and Israel's control over the latter. The article evidences the existence of variegated borders regimes applying to different categories of Israelis, Palestinians and EU citizens, together with Israel's outstanding prerogatives in defining these practices. The analysis suggests conceptualizing the space comprising the EU and Israel/Palestine as overlapping borderlands, with Israel and the territories emerging as a single, yet highly fragmented, space in which borders are alternative expressions of power relations in protracted conflicts. With the EU being drawn into prevailing conflict dynamics, the type and extent of EU–Israeli–Palestinian interconnectedness thus undermine the coherent implementation of Brussels’ mainly bilateral policies towards Israel and the territories.