Frances Fuller, a 94-year-old author who lived and worked in Jordan and Lebanon for three decades, has published insights that challenge common American perceptions of the Middle East conflict. Her article "Things You Might Not Know" presents historical context and current realities that she says are often missing from U.S. media coverage.
Fuller notes that many Americans are unaware that Zionist groups like Irgun conducted what she describes as early terrorist attacks, including the 1946 bombing of Jerusalem's King David Hotel that killed more than 90 people. She also references the 1947 destruction of Deir Yassin village, events she says contributed to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians becoming refugees.
The author provides detailed information about Israeli settlements in the West Bank, stating there are 132 officially recognized Jewish settlements plus 121 unofficial outposts, with at least 575,000 Israeli Jews living in territory designated for Palestinians under international agreements. She describes these settlements as planned, well-built cities that make Palestinian statehood increasingly difficult.
Fuller explains that Israel has built highways connecting these settlements that Palestinian vehicles with green license plates cannot use, while Jewish vehicles with yellow plates have access. She also describes movement restrictions between Gaza and the West Bank, noting Gaza residents can only travel to the West Bank for exceptional needs like urgent medical care, while West Bank residents can only travel to Gaza if they pledge permanent relocation.
Perhaps most concerning, Fuller states that under Israeli law, any Palestinian can be arrested without cause and imprisoned indefinitely without trial through "administrative detention," a practice she says keeps thousands of men and teenage boys imprisoned on the claim they might commit future offenses.
The full text of her article is available at https://www.inborrowedhouseslebanon.com/things-you-might-not-know/.
Fuller's perspective comes from her extensive Middle East experience documented in her award-winning memoir "In Borrowed Houses," which covers eight years of her 30-year stay during periods of war involving Palestinian militias and Israeli invasions. The book has received multiple awards including Best Non-fiction from Northern California Publishers and Authors and a bronze medal in the Illumination Book Awards.
Her more recent work, "Helping Yourself Grow Old, Things I Said to Myself When I Was Almost Ninety," takes a personal approach to aging that differs from academic treatments of the subject. Reviewers have described it as honest, witty, poignant and life-changing, with one Amazon reviewer stating they plan to reread it annually.
For group discussions of her aging book, Fuller has made discussion questions available at http://www.FrancesFullerAuthor.com. A free ebook sample from "In Borrowed Houses" is available at http://www.payhip.com/francesfuller.
These insights matter because they come from direct, long-term experience in the region rather than secondary reporting, offering perspectives that complicate simplified narratives about Middle East conflicts. Fuller's historical knowledge and observations about current conditions provide context for understanding ongoing tensions and challenges to peace negotiations.
