For this thematic edition on occupation, the InternationalReview of the Red Cross considered it crucial to complement the academic andmilitary perspectives reflected in this issue with a viewpoint of someone whohas lived and practised law in an occupied territory. The Review chose tointerview Raja Shehadeh, a Palestinian lawyer, writer, and human rights activistwho lives in Ramallah. In 1979 he co-founded Al-Haq, an independent Palestiniannon-governmental human rights organization based in Ramallah, which is anaffiliate of the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva. He worked withAl-Haq as co-director until 1991, when he left the organization to pursue aliterary career.

Raja Shehadeh is the author of several books on international law, humanitarianlaw, and the Middle East, such as The West Bank and the Rule ofLaw (1980), Occupier's Law: Israel and the WestBank (1985 and 1988), and From Occupation to InterimAccords: Israel and the Palestinian Territories (1997). He wasawarded the Orwell Prize in 2008 for his book Palestinian Walks: Noteson a Vanishing Landscape. His most recent book isOccupation Diaries.

In this interview, Raja Shehadeh gives his views on the relevance of occupationlaw today, as well as his personal reflections on Israel, the PalestinianAuthority, and the work of international organizations such as the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross (ICRC).