Israeli Peace Palestinian Justice

In this book, the late Prof. Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov argues that the failure of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process so far has been mainly the result of the inability of both sides to reach an agreed formula for linking justice to peace. The issues of justice and injustice are focused mainly on the outcomes of the 1947-1949 first Arab-Israeli War and specifically in the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem. The conflicting historical narratives of the two sides regarding the question of responsibility for the injustice done to the Palestinians turn the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a classic case of linking the issues of justice and peace.Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov maintains that the narratives of justice and injustice in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have proved to be formidable barriers to peace. Hence, he recommends that justice should be compromised for the sake of peace. The link between justice and peace is an important issue requiring both sides’ attention, but, given the wide and currently unbridgeable gap separating the two sides, it should be postponed to the phase of reconciliation rather than being included in the process of conflict resolution. The two-state solution is endorsed as the best and practical solution and as a first step for a "just peace" in this conflict, to be followed by reconciliation. Highly topical, this book is essential reading for scholars and researchers of International Relations, Peace Studies and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Peace with Justice is an analysis of the political, legal and economic viability of the current Israeli NPLO peace process, and an evaluation of the agreements made between 13 September 1993 and 17 January 1997. It assesses the attempt by the Israeli and Palestinian communities to shape a common future through an analysis of the effectiveness of the negotiated agreements as an instrument for, and as an example of, conflict resolution.

“A brilliant and bracing analysis of the Palestine question and settler colonialism . . . a vital lens into movement lawyering on the international plane.” —Vasuki Nesiah, New York University, founding member of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) Justice in the Question of Palestine is often framed as a question of law. Yet none of the Israel-Palestinian conflict’s most vexing challenges have been resolved by judicial intervention. Occupation law has failed to stem Israel’s settlement enterprise. Laws of war have permitted killing and destruction during Israel’s military offensives in the Gaza Strip. The Oslo Accord’s two-state solution is now dead letter. Justice for Some offers a new approach to understanding the Palestinian struggle for freedom, told through the power and control of international law. Focusing on key junctures—from the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to present-day wars in Gaza—Noura Erakat shows how the strategic deployment of law has shaped current conditions. Over the past century, the law has done more to advance Israel’s interests than the Palestinians’. But, Erakat argues, this outcome was never inevitable. Law is politics, and its meaning and application depend on the political intervention of states and people alike. Within the law, change is possible. International law can serve the cause of freedom when it is mobilized in support of a political movement. Presenting the promise and risk of international law, Justice for Some calls for renewed action and attention to the Question of Palestine. “Careful and captivating . . . This book asks that the Palestinian liberation struggle and Jewish-Israeli society each reckon with the impossibility of a two-state future, reimagining what their interests are—and what they could become.” —Amanda McCaffrey, Jewish Currents

Ali Abunimah provides an effective strategy for advancing the struggle for a just, single-state solution in Palestine.

This book applies the dynamic field of transitional justice to conflict resolution in Israel/Palestine. Around the globe, diverse societies have pursued truth-telling, restorative justice and reconciliation to end conflict -- yet the language of transitional justice has been all but absent in Israel/Palestine. This volume squarely addresses how transitional justice could contribute to conflict transformation and accountability, incorporating the questions of collective justice, memory, and human rights. It covers the most important historical and legal issues facing Israel/Palestine with a focus on civil societies in South Africa, Northern Ireland and Latin America. Ultimately, the book proposes an unofficial Israeli-Palestinian Truth and Empathy Commission (IPTEC) to address gross human rights abuses committed by both nations. Transitional Justice for Israel/Palestine will be of interest to researchers, NGOs, and policy makers working in transitional justice and societies with ongoing conflict.

This book explores the challenges of transforming the violent conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinians into just peace. There are many challenges involved in the bottom-up transformation of the violent structures that sustain the State of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. This book examines these structures as it assesses the actors and strategies that are contributing to the termination of cycles of violence and oppression. Consisting of contributions from both peace practitioners and academics who have conducted research within Israel and the occupied territory, the volume utilises a multidisciplinary perspective to examine promising strategies for conflict transformation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. Moreover, it spells out the types of nonviolent strategy that are being used to expose and undermine occupation structures, and surveys the manner in which a variety of key actors are working towards the transformation of the ongoing conflict. As a whole, the volume presents a proposal for the transformation of the conflict between Palestinians and the State of Israel that embraces the constructive potential of conflict, engages with power asymmetry, and pushes for justice and accountability. This book will be of much interest to students of conflict resolution, peace studies, Middle Eastern studies, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and IR in general.

Collection of papers and keynote presentations that were delivered at a conference called "Pathways to Peace," which was held in March of 2008.