Israel / Palestine

by Dowty, Alan

• ISBN13: 9780745656113
• ISBN10: 0745656110
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-04-16
• Publisher: Polity Pr

Summary

What explains the peculiar intensity and evident intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Of all the "hot spots" in the world today, the apparently endless clash between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East seems unique in its longevity and resistance to resolution. Is this conflict really different from other ethnic and nationalist confrontations, and if so, in what way? In this fully revised and updated third edition of his highly respected introductory text, Alan Dowty demystifies the conflict by putting it in broad historical perspective, identifying its roots, and tracing its evolution up to the current impasse. His account offers a clear analytic framework for understanding transformations over time, and in doing so, punctures the myths of an "age-old" conflict with an unbridgeable gap between the two sides. Rather than simply reciting historical detail, this book presents a clear overview that serves as a road map through the thicket of conflicting claims. This newly expanded edition updates the analysis to include the latest developments, and also integrates into the analysis a fuller account of the regional and international context of the conflict. In this account the opposed perspectives of the two sides are presented in full, leaving readers to make their own evaluations of the issues. The book thus expresses fairly and objectively the concerns, hopes, fears, and passions of both sides, making it clear why this conflict is waged with such vehemence -- and why, for all that, there are some grounds for optimism.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: Two Worlds Collide

Dispelling Myths

Defining the Conflict

The Setting: Ottoman Palestine

The Jewish Story

A Fossilized Relic?

The Theme of Persecution

"Come, Let Us Go"

Herzl and the Second Aliya

First Encounters

The Arab Story

The Glory of Islam

The Rise of the West

Palestine and Palestinism

First Encounters

The Debut of Arab Nationalism

The Emergence of Israel

The British Mandate

A Mischievous Pretence?

Holocaust and Partition

The War of Independence/An-Naqba:

The Second Stage of the Conflict

Nasser and Nationalism

The Re-emergence of the Palestinians

The War that No One Wanted?

The Peculiar Legacy of 1967

The Decade of Sadat: Entering the Third Stage of the Conflict

The Lebanese Tangle

Shaking Things Up: The First Intifada

The First Pass at Peace

The Oslo Breakthrough

The Rocky Road to Peace

What Went Wrong?

The Roof Falls In

The Fourth Stage of the IsraeliÐPalestinian Conflict

The End of the Arafat Era

Israel Turns to Unilateralism

A Turning Point: Ideology Prevails

The Impasse that Remains

The End of the Two-State Solution?

Territory and Settlements

Jerusalem

Security Issues

Refugees

A General Prognosis

The Perfect Conflict

Right against Right?

A Practical Solution

Building Foundations: Extremists and Illusions

Reflections

Chronology

Further Reading

Internet Links

References

Index

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