The current efforts of the Obama administration to renew Israeli-Palestinian peace talks come after years in which the two sides have not been engaged in any negotiations. This diplomatic hiatus has had an impact on the public discourse about the questions involved.
Many observers in academia, government, and journalism are frequently not familiar with all the nuances that will be raised. The list of studies presented below is intended to fill that vacuum by providing key background papers on the most critical issues that will be on the negotiating table. The authors of these works are former senior diplomats, military officers, and governmental advisors, thus providing the reader an insider’s perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the options to be considered for its resolution.
Major Themes
The Legal Basis of Israel’s Rights in the Disputed Territories (2010)
Amb. Alan Baker
Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People: From the San Remo Conference (1920) to the Netanyahu-Abbas Talks (2010)
Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum
The Myth of Israel as a Colonialist Entity (The New Republic, 2010)
Amb. Dore Gold
The Settlements Issue: Distorting the Geneva Convention and the Oslo Accords (2011)
Amb. Alan Baker
The Refugee Question
The Palestinian Refugees on the Day after “Independence” (2011)
Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi
The Plight of the Refugees and Resolution 242 (2009)
Prof. Ruth Lapidoth
The Forgotten Narrative: Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries (2005)
Dr. Avi Beker
The Mechanics of Peace
‘Land Swaps’ and the 1967 Lines (Weekly Standard, 2011)
Amb. Dore Gold
The Risks of Foreign Peacekeeping Forces in the West Bank (2011)
Maj.-Gen. [res.] Yaakov Amidror
The Arab Peace Initiative: A Primer and Future Prospects (2009)
Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum
Demilitarization – Preventing Military and Terrorist Threats from Within and By Way of the Palestinian Territories (2010)
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Udi Dekel
Linking the Gaza Strip with the West Bank: Implications of a Palestinian Corridor Across Israel (2007)
Justus Reid Weiner J.D. and Dr. Diane Morrison
Israel’s Right to Secure Boundaries
Defensible Borders To Secure Israel’s Future (2011)
Maj.-Gen. [res.] Uzi Dayan
The Principles of Peacemaking (2009)
Amb. Richard Holbrooke
The Territorial Clauses of Security Council Resolution 242 (2009)
Amb. Yehuda Blum
Resolution 242: An Analysis of its Main Provisions (2009)
Prof. Ruth Lapidoth
UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967)
Statements Clarifying the Meaning of UN Security Council Resolution 242 (2009)
