Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer

Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict A Primer (updated 6th edition)

Phyllis Bennis (Institute for Policy Studies) utilizes a question and answer format in order to provide a well-informed and, considering its brevity, surprisingly detailed primer on Israeli-Palestinian history and politics for an American audience seeking to understand US policy in the region.

Bennis assumes almost no prior knowledge of the region and even answers such introductory questions as 'Why are the Palestinians in Israel at all?' She also provides significant detail on UN resolutions concerning the conflict, the role of other states and the United Nations' in the conflict, the diplomatic intricacies of the so-called peace process, Israeli violations of international law, and the impact of important events such as the occupation of Iraq and the Israeli war in Southern Lebanon. All but the most expert will likely learn something and the neophyte will greatly benefit in understanding by reading this book.

If you have ever wondered “Why is there so much violence in the Middle East?”, “Who are the Palestinians?”, “What are the occupied territories?” or “What does Israel want?”, then this is the book for you. With straightforward language, Phyllis Bennis, longtime analyst of the region, answers basic questions about Israel and Israelis, Palestine and Palestinians, the US and the Middle East, Zionism and anti-Semitism; about complex issues ranging from the Oslo peace process to the election of Hamas to the Goldstone Report and the Palestinians' UN initiative.

Together her answers provide a comprehensive understanding of the longstanding Palestinian–Israeli conflict. Sections include: The Crisis; The Other Players: The Role of the US, the UN, the Arab States, and Europe; Recent History: Rising Violence; Looking Backward (1900-1991); The Future.

Phyllis Bennis is a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, and Director of its New Internationalism Program.  She is the author of Challenging Empire: How People, Governments and the UN Defy US Power, Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today's UN, and Before & After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism.

Bennis appears frequently as a commentator/analyst on U.S. and international television and radio programs. An essential volume by an experienced scholar and analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC.

 ...This is an excellent addition to any Middle East collection.
—Elka R. Frankel, Multicultural Review

“Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, and a long-time Middle East analyst, has produced a simple and educational work about a highly complicated conflict. ... The answers that Bennis provides to her self-posed questions get important aspects of the history of Palestinian right. She also addresses the current role of the West. …the author is deeply knowledgeable of the conflict and its history. The author details the Palestinian position. …[A]voids taking advantage of a class analysis approach. …[T]his is a competent, direct, and accessible introduction to the issue.”
—Journal of Palestine Studies

Paperback: 240 pages, maps
Publisher: Olive Branch Press, 2015
Language: English
ISBN: 9781623719876