A Short History of the Gaza Strip is a concise yet deeply illuminating account of one of the most contested and misunderstood territories in modern history. Irfan, a historian of Palestine and forced displacement, distils a complex geopolitical story into a tightly argued narrative that is accessible and rigorously researched.
The book traces Gaza’s transformation across the 20th and 21st centuries, from the British Mandate through Egyptian administration, Israeli occupation, and the contemporary blockade. Irfan’s key contribution is her insistence on viewing Gaza not as an isolated anomaly but as a product of regional and international policies – especially those concerning refugees. She highlights UNRWA’s role, the experiences of Palestinians displaced in 1948 and 1967, and how successive powers (including Arab states) have governed or restricted Gaza’s population.
What distinguishes this work is Irfan’s focus on the voices and agency of Gazans who have adapted, resisted and shaped their environment despite severe constraints. The book avoids sensationalism, offering clear historical reasons for Gaza’s current humanitarian and political crises.
Irfan’s writing is precise and balanced, making complex history digestible; as she notes, ‘since 1948, the Gaza Strip has been central to Palestinian and Israeli politics.’ This book succeeds as both an academic contribution and an accessible introduction, providing essential context for understanding Gaza today.
A caveat: the book is pro-Palestinian, and some readers may find its treatment of Israel biased, though the evidence presented is often unflattering to Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
Book review by Anthony Llewellyn-Evans
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Irfan is Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Race, Gender and Postcolonial Studies at University College London (UCL). She was previously a lecturer at the University of Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre and has also taught at the London School of Economics and the University of Sussex.
Dr Irfan is a leading expert on Palestinian refugee rights, the UN and UNRWA. Her work has appeared in academic publications including the Journal of Refugee Studies, Journal of Palestine Studies, Contemporary Levant, Forced Migration Review and Jerusalem Quarterly. Her first book, Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the International Refugee System, was recently published with Columbia University Press.
She is lead researcher on the British Academy-funded project Borders, Global Governance and the Refugee, 1947-51. The project website Partition Displacements can be found here.
In addition to her academic work, Dr Irfan is a media commentator and analyst on Palestinian politics, and provides expert opinion and consultancy in asylum cases.
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