Mea Culpa: Gaza may be under siege but that does not make it an enclave

Questions of language and style in last week’s Independent, reviewed by John Rentoul

‘You’d never have caught me saying “Me and my husband”, would you, Philip?’ (Tim Graham/Getty)

We often refer to Gaza as an enclave, even when talking about the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which ought to make it clear that it isn’t one. As Roger Thetford pointed out, an enclave is a territory that is completely surrounded by another territory. There are such things as coastal enclaves, surrounded by the sea on one side and another country on the other, but the Gaza Strip isn’t one of those, because it borders Egypt at one end.

Quite often, we call it “the besieged enclave”. As is so often the case in Israel-Palestine, words matter. Calling it an enclave implies that it is completely surrounded by Israel, and therefore that Israel has sole responsibility for its state of siege; whereas Egypt does have some responsibility too.

Accidental pun: In an article on Tuesday about Matthew Perry, we commented on his guest appearances in three episodes of The West Wing, which could have pointed towards a different future as an actor in (more) serious drama. We said: “In the wake of his death, it’s hard not to lament the career he could have had.” I don’t think we intended the funereal meaning of “wake”, but Henry Peacock thought it a fine play on words regardless.