“Alan Dowty s Israel/Palestine is an authoritative and extraordinarily valuable text for courses on the Arab–Israeli conflict. Rare for its scrupulous attention to balance and careful examination of the responsibilities of all sides, Dowty not only offers an opportunity to evaluate critically their differences but also suggests the commonalities out of which the conflict could be resolved.” S. Ilan Troen, Brandeis University and Ben–Gurion University of the Negev

In this fully revised and updated second edition of his highly respected introductory text, Alan Dowty demystifies the conflict by putting it in broad historical perspective, identifying its roots, and tracing its evolution up to the current impasse. His account offers a clear analytic framework for understanding transformations over time, and in doing so, punctures the myths of an “age–old” conflict with an unbridgeable gap between the two sides. Rather than simply reciting historical detail, this book presents a clear overview that serves as a road map through the thicket of conflicting claims.

In this account the opposed perspectives of the two sides are presented in full, leaving readers to make their own evaluations of the issues. The book thus expresses fairly and objectively the concerns, hopes, fears, and passions of both sides, making it clear why this conflict is waged with such vehemence and why, for all that, there are some grounds for optimism.