Search results for ""Author Menachem Klein""

Although Israelis and Palestinians are adamant that they will not negotiate or indeed compromise over the status of Jerusalem, agreements have been made and understandings reached between the two protagonists, as well as between other Arab states. This book sheds light on the political history of Jerusalem in Arab-Israeli relations over the last 25 years. The author adopts a multidisciplinary approach -involving history, political science, geography, city planing, sociology and international relations - in order to integrate the political status of the city on the negotiating table with its complex urban reality, thereby dispelling many of the myths that shape political discourse about the city. Too often, he argues, Jerusalem's complex political geography has been overlooked in the rush to maximise short-term political gains. The first chapter presents the geographical and urban reality and its historical background: the second describes how Jerusalem was treated during the peace negotiations between Israel and Egypt in 1977-9; the third analyses the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations from the early 1980s to the Declaration of Principles signed by Israel and the PLO in September 1993; the fourth discusses the status of the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, as well as the status of Jordan in the negotiations concerning Jerusalem and the city's Islamic holy sites; the fifth analyses the Palestinians' position regarding Jerusalem and relations between their local representatives and the Palestinian Authority's national institutions; the sixth examines whether the uniqueness of East Jerusalem also finds expression in its politics. To this end, it analyses the political profile of East Jerusalem's inhabitants and of their representatives in the Legislative Council of the Palestinian Authority. The seventh chapter addresses Israeli policy and actions, under the Labour and Likud administrations. The conclusion discusses the permanent status negotiations, including the unofficial underst

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This landmark volume presents vivid and intimate portraits of Palestinian Presidents Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, revealing the impact these different personalities have had on the struggle for national self-determination. Arafat and Abbas lived in Palestine as young children. Uprooted by the 1948 war, they returned in 1994 to serve as the first and second presidents of the Palestinian Authority, the establishment of which has been the Palestine Liberation Organization's greatest step towards self-determination for the Palestinian nation. Both Arafat and Abbas were shaped by earlier careers in the PLO, and each adopted their own controversial leadership methods and decision-making styles. Drawing on primary sources in Arabic, Hebrew and English, Klein gives special attention to the lesser known Abbas: his beliefs and his disagreements with Israeli and American counterparts. The book uncovers new details about Abbas' peace talks and US foreign policy towards Palestine, and analyses the political evolution of Hamas and Abbas' succession struggle. Klein also highlights the tension between the ageing leader and his society. 'Arafat and Abbas' offers a comprehensive and balanced account of the Palestinian Authority's achievements and failures over its twenty-five years of existence. What emerges is a Palestinian nationalism that refuses to disappear.

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The size and intensity of the Israeli army's operations since 2000 as well as the unprecedented scale of settlement construction brought about a qualitative change in the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis, altering it, Klein argues, from a border conflict to an ethnic struggle, pure and simple. Jewish Israel has now established its ethno-security regime over the whole area, from Jordan to the Mediterranean, a process that was accelerated and facilitated by election results in Israel, the United States and the Palestinian Authority. Arguing against the prevailing wisdom, which describes Israel's control system as merely one of 'occupation', in The Shift Klein contends that it is based now on twin ethnic and security pillars and seeks to include Israeli citizens of Palestinian origin. The core of his book examines the current ruling structure of the shrinking Jewish majority over the almost majority Palestinians and its different levels: Israeli Palestinian citizens, the residents of Jerusalem, the two West Bank groups divided by the Separation Barrier and those living under siege in the Gaza Strip. The Shift is based on primary sources and data that usually are published separately. Klein weaves them into his ground-breaking book, offering the reader a comprehensive portrayal of the on-the-ground realities and providing a new framework for understanding the status of the durable Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its history, and its likely future course.

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In 2003, after two years of negotiations, a group of prominent Israelis and Palestinians signed a model peace treaty. The document, popularly called the Geneva Initiative, contained detailed provisions resolving all outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinian people, including drawing a border between Israel and Palestine, dividing Jerusalem, and determining the status of the Palestinian refugees. The negotiators presented this citizens' initiative to the Israeli and Palestinian peoples and urged them to accept it. One of the Israeli negotiators was Menachem Klein, a political scientist who has written extensively about the Jerusalem issue in the context of peace negotiations. Although the Geneva Initiative was not endorsed by the governments of either side, it became a fundamental term of reference for solving the Middle East conflict. In this firsthand account, Klein explains how and why these groups were able to achieve agreement. He directly addresses the formation of the Israeli and Palestinian teams, how they managed their negotiations, and their communications with both governments. He also discusses the role of third-party facilitators and the strategy behind marketing the Geneva Initiative to the public. A scholar and participant in the Geneva negotiations, Klein is able to provide both an inside perspective and an impartial analysis of the diplomatic efforts behind this historic compromise. He compares the negotiations to previous Israeli-Palestinian talks both formal and informal and the resolution of conflicts in South Africa and Algeria. Klein hopes that by treating the event as a case study we can learn a tremendous amount about the needs and approaches of both parties and the necessary shape peace must take between them.

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