The Arab-Israeli Conflict An Introduction and Documentary Reader

Part I: Introduction

Alden Mahler Levine and Gregory S. Mahler

Part II: From Herzl (1896) to Recognition as a State (1949)

1. Theodor Herzl, The Jewish State (1896)

2. Ahad Ha’Am, The Jewish State and the Jewish Problem (1897)

3. The Basle Program, Resolutions of the First Zionist Congress (August 30, 1897)

4. Letter from Dr. Theodore Herzl to M. Youssuf Zia al-Khalidi (March 19, 1899)

5. The Uganda Proposal (August 26, 1903)

6. Sir Henry McMahon: The McMahon Letter (October 24, 1915)

7. The Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916)

8. The Balfour Declaration (November 2, 1917)

9. The Weizmann-Feisal Agreement (January 3, 1919)

10. Interview in Mr. Balfour’s Apartment, 23 Rue Nitot, Paris (June 24, 1919)

11. The White Paper of 1922 (June 1922) (The "Churchill White Paper")

12. The Mandate for Palestine (July 24, 1922)

13. The Passfield White Paper (October 1930)

14. British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald Letter to Chaim Weizmann (February 13, 1931)

15. The Palestine Royal Commission (Peel Commission): Report (July 24, 1937)

16. British Government: Policy Statement against Partition (November 11, 1938)

17. British Government: The White Paper (May 17, 1939)

18. Zionist Reaction to the White Paper (1939)

19. The Biltmore Program: Towards a Jewish State (May 11, 1942)

20. Arab Office Report to Anglo–American Committee (March 1946)

21. Report of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry (April 20, 1946)

22. United Nations General Assembly: Resolution 181, The Partition of Palestine (November 29, 1947)

23. Speech by Golda Meir — Chicago, Illinois Council of Jewish Federations (January 2, 1948)

24. Plan Dalet: Preparing for the War of Independence (March 10, 1948)

25. Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (May 14, 1948)

26. Creation of a Conciliation Commission, General Assembly Resolution 194 (III) (December 11, 1948)

27. Admission of Israel to the United Nations, General Assembly Resolution 273 (III) (May 11, 1949)

Part III: From Recognition (1949) through the Start of a Peace Process (1978)

28. U.N. General Assembly Resolution 303 (IV). Palestine: Question of an International Regime for the Jerusalem Area and the Protection of the Holy Places (December 1949)

29. State of Israel: Law of Return (July 1950)

30. U.N. Security Council: Resolution 95, Concerning… the Passage of Ships through the Suez Canal (September 1, 1951)

31. Palestine National Authority: Palestine National Charter of 1964

32. Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban: Speech to the Security Council of the United Nations (June 6, 1967)

33. The Allon Plan (June 18, 1967)

34. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Five Principles for Peace in the Middle East (June 19, 1967)

35. Protection of Holy Places Law (June 27, 1967)

36. The Khartoum Resolutions (September 1, 1967)

37. UN Security Council: Resolution 242 (November 22, 1967)

38. The Palestinian National Charter: Resolutions of the Palestine National Council (July 1–17, 1968)

39. The Seven Points of Fatah (January 1969)

40. Statement by U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers (December 9, 1969)

41. King Hussein's Federation Plan (March 15, 1972)

42. U.N. Security Council: Resolution 338 (October 22, 1973)

43. Palestine National Council: Resolutions at the 12th Session of the Palestine National Council (June 1974)

44. Seventh Arab League Summit Conference, Resolution on Palestine, Rabat, Morocco (October 28, 1974)

45. Interim Agreement between Israel and Egypt (September 1, 1975) ("Sinai II")

46. Memorandum of Agreement Between the Governments of Israel and the United States (September 1, 1975)

47. Statement to the Knesset by President Anwar al Sadat (November 20, 1977)

48. Statement to the Knesset by Prime Minister Menachem Begin (November 20, 1977)

49. Six-Point Program of the Palestine Liberation Organization (December 4, 1977)

50. The Camp David Accords (September 17, 1978): The Framework for Peace in the Middle East

51. The Camp David Accords (September 17, 1978): The Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel

Part IV: From Israeli-Egyptian Peace (1979) to Israeli-Jordanian Peace (1994)

52. Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt (March 26, 1979)

53. Arab League Summit Conference Communique, Baghdad (March 31, 1979)

54. Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel (July 1980)

55. Saudi Crown Prince Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz: The Fahd Plan (August 7, 1981)

56. Golan Heights Law (December 14, 1981)

57. Prime Minister Menachem Begin: The Wars of No Alternative and Operation Peace for the Galilee (August 8, 1982)

58. The Reagan Plan: U.S. Policy for Peace in the Middle East, (September 1, 1982)

59. Report of the [Kahan] Commission of Inquiry into the Events at the Refugee Camps in Beirut (February 8, 1983)

60. Agreement between Israel and Lebanon (May 17, 1983)

61. Jordan-PLO Agreement (February 11, 1985)

62. The Shultz Initiative (March 4, 1988)

63. King Hussein, Address to the Nation (July 31, 1988)

64. Palestine National Council: Declaration of Independence (November 15, 1988)

65. Israel’s Peace Initiative (May 14, 1989)

66. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker’s Five-Point Plan (October 10, 1989)

67. Letter of Invitation to the Madrid Peace Conference (October 30, 1991), Jointly Issued by the United States and the Soviet Union

68. Address to the Knesset by Prime Minister Rabin Presenting his Government (July 13, 1992)

69. Israel-PLO Recognition: Exchange of Letters between PM Rabin and Chairman Arafat (September 9, 1993)

70. Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ["Oslo Agreement"] (September 13, 1993)

71. Israel-Jordan Common Agenda (September 14, 1993)

72. Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area (May 4, 1994)

73. The Washington Declaration (July 25, 1994)

74. Treaty of Peace between The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the State of Israel (October 26, 1994)

Part V: From Interim Agreements (1995) to the Present Time

75. Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (September 28, 1995)

76. "What is Area C? Planning Policy in the West Bank"

77. Speech by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to the Knesset Supporting the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement (October 5, 1995)

78. [Beilin-Abu-Mazen] Framework for the Conclusion of a Final Status Agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (October 31, 1995)

79. Speech by Prime Minister Rabin at a Peace Rally (November 4, 1995)

80. Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Understanding (April 26, 1996)

81. Hussein-Netanyahu Exchange of Letters (March 1997)

82. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, "The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process," (August 6, 1997)

83. The Wye River Memorandum (October 23, 1998)

84. Address in the Knesset by Prime Minister-Elect Ehud Barak upon the Presentation of His Government (July 7, 1999)

85. Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum (September 4, 1999)

86. Protocol Concerning Safe Passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (October 5, 1999)

87. Israel-Syria Draft Peace Agreement ("Clinton Plan"), (January 8, 2000)

88. Trilateral Statement on the Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David (July 25, 2000)

89. President William J. Clinton, Statement on the Middle East Peace Talks at Camp David (July 25, 2000)

90. Taba Summit (January 21–27, 2001)

91. Sharm El-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee Final Report (April 30, 2001)

92. Israeli-Palestinian Ceasefire and Security Plan, proposed by CIA director George Tenet (June 13, 2001)

93. UN Security Council Resolution 1397 (March 12, 2002)

94. The Arab Peace Initiative (March 28, 2002)

95. President George W. Bush Speech (June 24, 2002)

96. The Nusseibeh-Ayalon Agreement (July 2002)

97. Roadmap to a Solution of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (April 30, 2003)

98. The Geneva Accord: A Model Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement (December 1, 2003)

99. Exchange of Letters between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and US President George W. Bush (April 14, 2004)

100. The Disengagement Plan from the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria (April 18, 2004)

101. International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion Finds Israel’s Construction of Wall "Contrary to International Law" (July 9, 2004)

102. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Address to the Knesset Prior to the Vote on the Disengagement Plan (October 25, 2004)

103. U.N. Security Council: Resolution 1701 (August 11, 2006)

104. Announcement of Annapolis Conference (November 20, 2007)

105. Joint Understanding on Negotiations (November 27, 2007)

106. Confidential Summary of Israeli Prime Minister Olmert’s "Package" Offer to Palestine President Abu Mazen (August 31, 2008)

107. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Declares Unilateral Ceasefire in Gaza (January 17, 2009)

108. Remarks by President Barack Obama at Cairo University, "On a New Beginning" (June 4, 2009)

109. Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories

110. Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton's Remarks to the American Task Force on Palestine

111. Understanding Regarding Ceasefire in Gaza Strip (November 21, 2012)

112. The 2014 Gaza Conflict: Factual and Legal Aspects: Executive Summary (May 2015)

113. Israeli Foreign Ministry: The Nuclear Deal with Iran: Questions and Answers (July 27, 2015)

114. Remarks by President Barack Obama on the Iran Nuclear Deal (August 5, 2015)

115. Report of the Middle East Quartet (July 1, 2016)

116. Paris Conference Joint Communique (January 15, 2017)

117. Trump Administration Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel (December 6, 2017)

118. "Peace To Prosperity" ["Trump Peace Plan"] Overview (January 2020)

119. Joint Statement of the United States, the State of Israel, and the United Arab Emirates (August 13, 2020)

120. The Abraham Accords Declaration (September 15, 2020)

Biography

Gregory S. Mahler is Research Professor of Politics and Academic Dean Emeritus at Earlham College (Richmond, Indiana). He received his B.A. from Oberlin College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University. He is the author or editor of over 30 books in the field of comparative politics, primarily focusing on political institutions and political behavior. His text Comparative Politics has been in print since 1983 and is currently in its sixth edition (2019). His text on Politics and Government in Israel will be appearing in its fourth edition in 2024.

"By compiling such an extensive and thorough collection of primary documents relating to both the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, Gregory Mahler has performed a great service for scholars and students. This updated edition, with some new recent documents in it, will be an invaluable resource for anyone teaching or learning about these long-running conflicts."

Dov Waxman, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Israel Studies and Director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

"Mahler’s volume offers readers key maps and well selected documents that are essential for understanding Israel’s conflict with the Arabs. A lively introduction provides historical context and unpacks a number of important controversies regarding this complex and still-unresolved dispute. Well designed to complement historical textbooks."

Neil Caplan, Affiliate Faculty Member, Department of History, Concordia University, Montreal

Gregory Mahler’s third edition of The Arab-Israeli Conflict: An Introduction and Documentary Reader is a welcome updated edition of a collection of documents related to the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict from the rise of Zionism at the end of the 19th century until the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020. These primary sources constitute an essential and useful tool for teachers and students interested in meticulously studying the evolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Carefully chosen to represent a balanced account, these documents reflect the complexity of the conflict and attest to its intractability."

Elie Podeh, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem