The Origins of the Arab Israeli Wars [Paperback]

This highly-regarded history gives a balanced and judicious introduction to this immensely complex and controversial subject, weaving different strands of the story into a single coherent narrative, thus making it essential reading for all students studying conflict in the Middle East. Of all the troubles affecting the modern world few are as topical, deep rooted and intractable as the Arab-Israeli conflict. For this region, an understanding of the past is vital to an understanding of the present. Ritchie Ovendales classic study of the roots of the conflict is now updated for a fourth time and considers events until 2003.

List of Maps.  Acknowledgements.  Authors Note on Arab and Hebrew Names.  Maps.  1. The Jewish State versus the Arab Awakening.  2. Two Pledges and the Origins of a Conflict.  3. The Division of the Middle East and the Roots of War.  4. British Paramountcy over Arabs and Zionists.  5. The United States and the Jewish State Movement.  6. The Arab and Zionist Cases in British and American Eyes.  7. The Recognition of Israel and War.  8. Realignment and Change.  9. The Suez-Sinai War of 1956.  10. Towards the June 1967 War.  11. Attrition, and the October War.  12. Camp David and the War in Lebanon.  13. The Palestinian Uprising.  14. The Peace Process.  15. The Second Palestinian Uprising.  16. Conclusions.  Bibliography.  Index.

Ovendale does an admirable job of making sense of these diverse currents, and turns the history of the conflict into a coherent, readable narrative.

The Economist

Although Ritchie Ovendales book is short, it is extremelló*