Compromising Palestine

Compromising Palestine

In response to the challenges of bringing the tenacious Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end, many have offered grand historical perspectives, vague formulas, or visionary new proposals. Aharon Klieman, however, goes beyond abstract reflections to offer a clear and practical assessment of which issues will be important in the upcoming negotiations, and why. At the top of his list is the partitionist strategy of dividing land through political and territorial compromise. Territorial partition-an idea circulating for over sixty years-becomes more prominent now, according to Klieman, and is the only viable option (if any) for ending the conflict. Compromising Palestine argues that while the Oslo peace accords are an important declaration of principles and provide a mechanism for peace, they are singularly ambiguous and do not provide tangible solutions, which must be sought through practical compromises and concrete plans followed to the letter by both sides. Falling between broad general discussion and actual operational plans, this concise, clearly focused, and beautifully written book will provide a very useful reference point for anyone following the peace process-whether academic, policy maker, or general reader-and will contribute to the quality of analysis at each stage of the debate during the crucial final status period. Review Klieman's book should be of interest to any student of Israeli-Palestinian relations. -- Ann-sofi Jakobsson Hatay, Uppsala University, Department of Peace and Conflict Research - The Ethnic Conflict Research DigestBy carefully reviewing maps and basic territorial and geographic factors, Klieman higlights the difficulties in resolving borders, sharing Jerusalem, dividing water resources, and living with the demographic and economic realities of the partition. -- Gerald Steinberg, Bar-Ilan University - Studies in Contemporary Jewry About the Author Aharon Klieman is professor of international relations and senior researcher at the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University.