The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for StatehoodAt a time when a lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis seems virtually unattainable, understanding the roots of their conflict is an essential step in restoring hope to the region. In The Iron Cage, Rashid Khalidi, one of the most respected historians and political observers of the Middle East, homes in on Palestinian politics and history. By drawing on a wealth of experience and scholarship, Khalidi provides a lucid context for the realities on the ground today, a context that has been, until now, notably lacking in our discourse. The story of the Palestinian search to establish a state begins in the mandate period immediately following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, the era of British control, when fledgling Arab states were established by the colonial powers with assurances of eventual independence. Mandatory Palestine was a place of real promise, with unusually high literacy rates and a relatively advanced economy. But the British had already begun to construct an iron cage to hem in the Palestinians, and the Palestinian leadership made a series of errors that would eventually prove crippling to their dream of independence. The Palestinians' struggle intensified in the stretch before and after World War II, when colonial control of the region became increasingly unpopular, population shifts began with heavy Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe, and power began to devolve to the United States. In this crucial period, Palestinian leaders continued to run up against the walls of the ever-constricting iron cage. They proved unable to achieve their long-cherished goal of establishing an independent state—a critical failure that set a course for the decades that followed, right through the eras of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas. Rashid Khalidi's engrossing narrative of this torturous history offers much-needed perspective for anyone concerned about peace in the Middle East. |
Contents
Arab Society in Mandatory Palestine | 1 |
The Palestinians and the British Mandate | 31 |
A Failure of Leadership | 65 |
The Revolt 1948 and Afterward | 105 |
Fateh the PLO and the PA The Palestinian ParaState | 140 |
Stateless in Palestine | 182 |
Other editions - View all
The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood Rashid Khalidi Limited preview - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
accepted administration al-'Isa al-Husayni American appeared Arab Arab Higher Committee Arafat areas armed authorities became Beirut Britain British colonial communities created decades developed dominated early economic effect efforts Egypt entire establishment eventually existence fact factions failure figures Filastin finally forces French Gaza groups important independent institutions Iraq Islamic Israel Israeli Israeli settlements Jerusalem Jewish Jews Khalidi land late later leaders leadership leading League Lebanon less London majority Mandate mandatory Middle East military movement mufti Muslim nationalist negotiations notably occupation officials organization Ottoman Pales Palestine Palestinian politics Party percent period political population position Press problem question refugees region religious representative respect responsible result revolt rule settlements social society structures Studies Syria territories tinian tion United University West Bank York Zionist movement
References to this book
Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding: Moving From Violence to ... Bruce W. Dayton,Louis Kriesberg No preview available - 2009 |
International Assistance to the Palestinians After Oslo: Political Guilt ... Anne Le More No preview available - 2008 |