This book provides a holistic view of the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbours and studies the global implications of their fraught relations. Focusing on the conflict from its beginning in the late 19th century, the author provides a well-rounded and balanced narrative by examining its religious, ideological, ethnic, political, national, regional and international dimensions. The volume covers a wide range of issues, such as the conflicting historical legacy of the city of Jerusalem, Jewish longing for a homeland, the partition of Palestine, various wars and conflicts since 1948, Palestinian resistance, the Arab Boycott of Israel and the Abraham Accords. It also tackles the contested national claims and the refugee question and looks at various peace-making efforts, including the role of external stakeholders such as the US, UK, Russia and India.
A comprehensive study of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the book is richly supported by a swath of references to materials, documents, maps and video links. It will be an essential reading for students, academics and teachers of politics and international relations, national security, geopolitics, history, military and strategic studies, Middle East studies, conflict resolution and peace-making.
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
1 Introduction
2 Approaches and Problems
3 Dimensions of the Conflict
4 Jewish National Home
5 Balfour Declaration
6 Mandate Palestine
7 Partition of Palestine
8 War of 1948
9 Suez Crisis of 1956
10 June 1967 War
11 UNSC Resolution 242
12 October War of 1973
13 The Palestinian Resistance
14 Arab Boycott of Israel
15 Non-conventional Challenges
16 Madrid Conference of 1991
17 The Oslo Process
18 Changing Palestinian Strategies
19 Occupied Territories
20 Jerusalem
21 The Refugee Problem
22 Other Contentious Issues
23 Peace-Making Efforts
24 Role of External Players
25 India and Arab-Israeli Conflict
26 Resolving the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Index
Biography
P. R. Kumaraswamy is Professor of contemporary Middle East in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. From 1992 to 1999, he was a research fellow at the Harry S Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Jerusalem. Since joining JNU in September 1999, he has been researching, teaching and writing on various aspects of the contemporary Middle East. His works include Squaring the Circle: Mahatma Gandhi and the Jewish National Home (2018), India’s Israel Policy (2010) and Historical Dictionary of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (2015, second edition). In October 2009, he set up the virtual Middle East Institute, New Delhi, and serves as its honorary director. In addition, he is the editor of the refereed quarterly Contemporary Review of the Middle East and the series editor of Persian Gulf: India’s Relations with the Region.
