This is a dispassionate examination of the viability of a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the politics of Israel, Palestine and the United States. It includes instructive case studies from South Africa in Namibia and the Irish claim to Northern Ireland. The results of Israeli elections from 2001 to 2013 are analyzed (with the conclusion that the Likud will be in any government coalition for at least the midterm future, giving it a veto over policy). A chapter examining the history and ideology of the secular right over the last 90 years follows.
There are three chapters of case studies: the Likud withdrawal from the Sinai in 1979–1982 and from Gaza in 2005, the withdrawal of South Africa from Namibia in 1988–1989, and the dropping of Ireland’s constitutional claim to Northern Ireland in 1998 under a Fianna Fail government—the same party that wrote the constitution in 1937. A chapter examines Palestinian politics since the mandatory era and another, the American-Israeli alliance and American politics. A concluding chapter draws lessons from the case studies and the analysis.

Thomas G. Mitchell is the author of numerous books on such topics as Israel, Northern Ireland, and antebellum American history. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Thomas G. Mitchell
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7597-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0386-5
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Preface 1
Introduction 3
One. The Demise of the Israeli Center-Left 11
Two. Revisionist History and Ideology 28
Three. The Likud Retreats: Sinai and Gaza 50
Four. South Africa Leaves Namibia 84
Five. Fianna Fail and the Claim to Northern Ireland 102
Six. Palestinian Politics 131
Seven. American Politics and the America-Israel Alliance 152
Eight. Lessons from the Cases 170
Chapter Notes 185
Bibliography 203
Index 207