Development, 2011, 54(4), pp. 514-19.

Available for purchase ($30 USD) at http://www.palgrave-journals.com/development/journal/v54/n4/pdf/dev201188a.pdf

In this scholar-practitioner journal dedicated to critical views on international development, I use my own experience to expose the incompatibility of the common ‘development’ worldview with political realities in Palestine; and I critique the development community for playing along with the charade that Palestine is “post-conflict.” Using the findings of research with grassroots civil society organizations, I show how dependence on development cooperation often contributes to the denial of Palestinians’ right to self-determination. I argue for honest self-reflection by the international development community, the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian civil society to end complicity with efforts that maintain structural inequality rather than challenge it.