The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace

Newly updated, an accessible chronicle of how the Israel-Palestine conflict originated and developed over the past century. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.

The ongoing struggle between Israel and Palestine is one of the most bitter conflicts in history, with profound global consequences. In this book, Middle East expert Michael Scott-Baumann succinctly describes its origins and charts its evolution from civil war to the present day. Each chapter offers a lucid explanation of the politics and ends with personal testimony from Palestinians and Israelis whose lives have been overshadowed by violence.

While presenting competing interpretations, Scott-Baumann examines key flash points including the early role of the British, the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, the Six-Day War of 1967, the Trump administration’s 2020 peace plan, and the war ignited by Hamas’s surprise attacks on Israel in 2023. He delineates both the nature of Israeli control over the Palestinian territories and Palestinian resistance—going to the heart of recent clashes. The result is an indispensable history, including a time line, glossary, and analysis of why efforts to restore peace have continually failed—at immense human cost on both sides of the conflict—and what it will take to succeed.

Preface
Chronology
List of Figures
 
1 The Origins of the Conflict
Palestine Before the First World War • Zionism and Jewish Communities in Palestine • Arabs and Jews in Palestine –Neighbors or Enemies?
 
2 The First World War and the British Mandate
Palestine in the First World War • British Intervention During the War • The Balfour Declaration, 1917 • The British Mandate for Palestine • The Development of the Jewish Community in Palestine
 
3 British Rule in Palestine, 1929–39
The Impact of British Rule on the Arabs in Palestine • The Development of Palestinian Nationalism in the 1930s • The Arab Revolt, 1936–39
 
4 UN Partition, Israel, and War, 1945–49
The End of the British Mandate • The UN Partition Plan and Civil War, 1947–48 • Contrasting Narratives of the Palestinian Exodus • The War of 1948–49
 
5 Palestinians and Israelis in the 1950s and 1960s
The Palestinian Diaspora • The Re-Emergence of Palestinian Nationalism • Jewish Immigration and the Economic Development of Israel • The Arab–Israeli Conflict in the 1950s and 1960s • The Aftermath of the Six-Day War
 
6 The Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories
Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories – The West Bank and Gaza • Settlement Building
 
7 Palestinian Resistance from 1967 to the First Intifada in 1987
Fatah and the PLO • Terrorism and the Palestinian Struggle • The PLO in Lebanon • The First Intifada, 1987–93
 
8 The Rise and Demise of the Oslo Peace Process, 1993–2000
The Road to Oslo • The Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995 • The West Bank and Gaza After Oslo • Camp David, 2000
 
9 From the Second Intifada to War in Gaza,2000–08
The Second Intifada, 2000–05 • The Israeli Evacuation of Gaza, 2005 • The Rise of Hamas
 
10 Palestinians and Israelis in the Age of Netanyahu, 2009 to 2021
Netanyahu and Obama • War in Gaza, 2014 • Arab Israelis and the Nation-State Law, 2018 • President Trump’s “Deal of the Century,” 2020 • Daily Life in the Occupied Territories, 2021
 
Epilogue
Notes
Glossary of Key Terms
Glossary of Key People
Bibliography
Index