Preventing Palestine

On the fortieth anniversary of the Camp David Accords, a groundbreaking new history that shows how Egyptian-Israeli peace ensured lasting Palestinian statelessness For seventy years Israel has existed as a state, and for forty years it has honored a peace treaty with Egypt that is widely viewed as a triumph of U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East. Yet the Palestinians—the would-be beneficiaries of a vision for a comprehensive regional settlement that led to the Camp David Accords in 1978—remain stateless to this day. How and why Palestinian statelessness persists are the central questions of Seth Anziska’s groundbreaking book, which explores the complex legacy of the agreement brokered by President Jimmy Carter. Based on newly declassified international sources, Preventing Palestine charts the emergence of the Middle East peace process, including the establishment of a separate track to deal with the issue of Palestine. At the very start of this process, Anziska argues, Egyptian-Israeli peace came at the expense of the sovereignty of the Palestinians, whose aspirations for a homeland alongside Israel faced crippling challenges. With the introduction of the idea of restrictive autonomy, Israeli settlement expansion, and Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the chances for Palestinian statehood narrowed even further. The first Intifada in 1987 and the end of the Cold War brought new opportunities for a Palestinian state, but many players, refusing to see Palestinians as a nation or a people, continued to steer international diplomacy away from their cause. Combining astute political analysis, extensive original research, and interviews with diplomats, military veterans, and communal leaders, Preventing Palestine offers a bold new interpretation of a highly charged struggle for self-determination.

For seventy years Israel has existed as a state, and for forty years it has honored a peace treaty with Egypt that is widely viewed as a triumph of U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East. Yet the Palestinians - the would-be beneficiaries of a vision for a comprehensive regional settlement that led to the Camp David Accords in 1978 - remain stateless to this day. How and why Palestinian statelessness persists are the central questions of Seth Anziska's groundbreaking book, which explores the complex legacy of the agreement brokered by President Jimmy Carter. Based on newly declassified international sources, Preventing Palestine charts the emergence of the Middle East peace process, including the establishment of a separate track to deal with the issue of Palestine. At the very start of this process, Anziska argues, Egyptian-Israeli peace came at the expense of the sovereignty of the Palestinians, whose aspirations for a homeland alongside Israel faced crippling challenges. With the introduction of the idea of restrictive autonomy, Israeli settlement expansion, and Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the chances for Palestinian statehood narrowed even further. The first Intifada in 1987 and the end of the Cold War brought new opportunities for a Palestinian state, but many players, refusing to see Palestinians as a nation or a people, continued to steer international diplomacy away from their cause.

Jeff Halper's book, like his life's work, is an inspiration. Drawing on his many years of directly challenging Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, he offers one of the most insightful analyses of the occupation I've read. His voice cries out to be heard.Jonathan Cook, author of Blood and Religion (2006) and Israel and the Clash of Civilisations (2008)In this book, the Israeli anthropologist and activist Jeff Halper throws a harsh light on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the point of view of a critical insider. While the Zionist founders of Israel created a vibrant society, culture and economy, they did so at a high price: Israel could not maintain its exclusive Jewish character without imposing on the country's Palestinian population policies of ethnic cleansing, occupation and discrimination, expressed most graphically in its ongoing demolition of thousands of Palestinian homes, both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories.An Israeli in Palestine records Halper's journey 'beyond the membrane' that shields his people from the harsh realities of Palestinian life to his 'discovery' that he was actually living in another country: Palestine. Without dismissing the legitimacy of his own country, he realises that Israel is defined by its oppressive relationship to the Palestinians. Pleading for a view of Israel as a real, living country which must by necessity evolve and change, Halper asks whether the idea of an ethnically pure 'Jewish State' is still viable. More to the point, he offers ways in which Israel can redeem itself through a cultural Zionism upon which regional peace and reconciliation are attainable.

Offering a persuasive basis for optimism about the conflict in the Middle East, Wasserstein focuses not only on religious differences, but on population, fertility rates, labor, and environmental pressures that have shaped politics in the region.

Sharon's election. The Second Intifada. Suicide bombings. Israel's reoccupation of the West Bank. President Bush's demand that Palestinians choose a new leadership. In this new edition, Marwan Bishara, a leading Palestinian commentator, analyses the situation since the failed Oslo Accords and argues that peace without justice is impossible. Israel may not yet recognise this fact, but one day it will have to - in the same way as de Klerk a decade ago had to do in apartheid South Africa.

A suggested approach to the policy issue of what and how much should be done by the Government of Israel to counter the objective threat of Palestinian terrorism. Palestinian terrorism is defined as Palestinian acts of low-level violence carried out for a political purpose, with the intent of inflicting casualties and damage as well as inducing fear and rage in Israeli society, and by so doing to incite Israel to react. After a historical analysis of Palestinian violence and Israeli countermeasures, the study focuses on current perceptions and observations. Terrorism is perceived by Israeli society as a major threat, both as a threat to the individual and as damaging to the national image. The perception of terrorism, however, is out of proportion to the share of terrorism in causing casualties, the reasons for which are given. The author suggests that Israel reduce the discrepancy in resource allocation among all casualty-preventing programs (say, preventing car accidents as well as countering terrorism); ameliorate society's perception of the subjective danger of terrorism; and, in general, to not react as expected to terrorist provocations. The study was prepared as a dissertation for the RAND Graduate Institute.

This edited work provides an up-to-date analysis of the post-Hamas election victory and its effect on the Middle East Peace process. It will be of interest to a broad readership in current affairs, politics and Middle East Studies.

In Mythologies Without End, Jerome Slater takes stock of the conflict over time and argues that US policies in the region are largely a product of mythologies that are often flatly wrong. Because of their widespread acceptance, there have been devastating consequences to the true interests of both countries. He argues that a critical examination and refutation of the many mythologies is a necessary first step toward solving the Arab-Israeliconflict.