Peace in Tatters

Peace in Tatters was born in a set of questions with which the author, an Israeli scholar, has struggled for some years: What went wrong in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process before the July 2000 Camp David summit and during the crucial negotiations? How have the dominant narratives about the collapse of the peace process been crafted? Does the ongoing crisis mark the end of the road for the idea that the conflict can be settled on the basis of a two-state solution, with Palestinians and Israelis living as peaceful neighbors? Yoram Meital offers a powerful explanation of how and why the peace process developed, evolved, and ultimately fell apart.Though rich in historical context, Peace in Tatters focuses primarily on the critical years of 2000-2004. Meital examines the major developments in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the evolving public-political discourse in Israeli and Palestinian societies, and, unflinchingly, U.S. policy in the Middle East. He also explores the dramatic repercussions of the aborted political process for Israelis and Palestinians, and for their opinions about the failure of the negotiations and the eruption of violence. His clear-sighted appraisal will help readers not only to understand what went wrong, but also to see present events in an essentially different way.Yoram Meital is senior lecturer in the Department of Middle East Studies and chair of the Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University. His previous publications in English include Egypt?s Struggle for Peace: Continuity and Change, 1967-1977.Contents: Introduction. The Goal: An End to Conflict. From War to Peace. Oslo: The ?Peace? ?Process.? Barak?s Blueprint and Its Failure. The Great Charade. Camp David: The Second Time Around. The Collapse of Peace. The al-Aqsa Intifada. The ?No-Partner? Approach. September 11 and the Middle East. The Arab Peace Initiative. Bush?s Vision and the War on Terror. Roadmap to Nowhere. High Fences Make Good Neighbors? Appendixes: Chronology of Key Events, 1947-2005; The Road Map; Ariel Sharon?s Herzaliya Statement.