A Historic Point of Departure

I have always maintained that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will endure until an independent Palestinian state is established based on a two-state solution. Since the 1967 Six Day War, Israel and the Palestinians have engaged in scores of violent encounters, two Intifadas, and several mini wars, culminating in the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7th and the current Israel-Hamas war. These conflagrations have only demonstrated that the occupation is not and will never be sustainable. The tragic incident of October 7th and its aftermath, however, has created a new paradigm in the conflict, making it impossible to return to the status quo ante. The two state solution has been presented once again, which all concerned parties can no longer ignore. No Israeli government will be able to withstand the mounting international pressure to bring closure to the conflict.

The main players, especially the leading Arab states and the US, view the conflict as the main source of regional instability, adversely affecting not only the security and well-being of Israel and the Palestinians but also their own geostrategic interests. They are now more determined than ever before, along with a majority of Israelis and Palestinians, to bring to a closure to the most debilitating conflict since World War II. This book provides a guideline as to how to reach this goal which has eluded so many before.

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international affairs, most recently having taught at New York University's Center for Global Affairs. Ben-Meir is an expert on Middle East and West Balkan affairs, international negotiations, and conflict resolution. In the past two decades, Ben-Meir has been directly involved in various backchannel negotiations involving Israel and its neighboring countries and Turkey. Ben-Meir is featured on a variety of television networks and also regularly briefs at the U.S. State Department for the International Visitors Program. He writes a weekly article that is syndicated globally. Dr. Ben-Meir has authored seven books related to the Middle East and is currently working on a new book that expands upon his proposal for an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian Confederation. Ben-Meir holds a master's degree in philosophy and a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University