Overview

This book shows how the Arab-Israeli conflict developed by looking beyond the legality argument to the men behind the policies. It argues that Zionism was adopted by the British Government in its 1917 Balfour Declaration, primarily as a way to control immigration. The book places the violent reaction of the Palestinians to mass Jewish immigration in the context of Zionism, and revisits the controversies over the question of self-determination, and the partition of Palestine. Arguing that Israel was created through an act of conquest and subjugation, the book concludes with a sobering analysis of the conflict arguing that neither Jews nor Arabs were to blame for starting it.

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9780745325798

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Reviews

This is an elegant and forceful narrative by a young Palestinian scholar. -- Boutros Boutros Ghali, Former UN Secretary-General By placing international law within its proper political and historical context, Victor Kattan offers a fresh analysis of a conflict with far-reaching implications for the region and beyond. ... A welcome addition to the search for a peace in the Middle East with human dignity for all its peoples at its centre. -- His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan Differing historical narratives and competing legal claims have characterized the Palestinian issue for over a hundred years. Victor Kattan gives them new meaning in his excellent study, which contains much new historical material and many new legal insights. -- John Dugard, Professor of Public International Law Emeritus, Leiden University and UN Special Rapporteur to the Occupied Palestinian Territories 2000-2008 A well-researched and extremely informative book... One of the best on the subject. -- Dr Anis al-Qasem, former Chairman of the Legal Committee of the Palestinian National Council Lucid and Scholarly work. Kattan explains how Jews and Palestinians were tragically caught up in the net of Great Power politics. His critique of Zionism, while robust, fully acknowledges the oppression that the Jews of Europe suffered through antisemitism, a subject that he treats with sensitivity and insight. ... This book could contribute to its resolution. -- Brian Klug, Senior Research Fellow and Tutor, St. Benet's Hall, University of Oxford. This is a book that students of the Israel / Palestine question will find impossible to ignore. It serves as a very readable introduction to the dispute from its origins up to 1949, but approaches the material from the angle of an international lawyer as well as a historian ... It is in Kattan's fresh examination of the legal questions that the book's chief originality lies. -- John McHugo, Executive Member of The Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) Detailed and well-researched... powerful and controversial... From Coexistence to Conquest delves deeply into the historical context of the struggle for Palestine while posing thought-provoking and sometimes difficult questions about prevailing perspectives of the region's transition and the historical effectiveness of international law. -- Elliot Shackleford, Berkeley Journal of International Law

Author Information

Victor Kattan is a Teaching Fellow at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, School of Oriental and African Studies.

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