Introduction: The Other Palestinian Problem
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
Israel is liable in the end to doom its Arab citizens to fulfill its fears of them. How long can a relatively large minority be assumed by the majority to be an enemy without in the end actually turning into one? How long can the state exist as a stable political framework if this is how it treats a sixth of its citizens? Slowly and steadily, as if slumbering, Israel is missing its chance to rescue itself from a horrible mistake. It is creating for itself the enemy it will run up against after its other enemies have made their peace with it.
David Grossman, Israeli writerNo conflict in the world today receives more attention, attracts more controversy, and elicits more emotion than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet, for all the diplomatic interest, news coverage, and political passion it generates, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is widely misunderstood. For some, the conflict is about the struggle of the Jewish state to survive in the Middle East and the unrelenting opposition it faces from Palestinians determined to prevent this. For others, the conflict is about the struggle of the Palestinians to end Israel's long-running occupation over them and achieve national self-determination.
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- Israel’s PalestiniansThe Conflict Within, pp. 1 - 16Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011