A 2016 poll found that 82% of young Israeli Jews believed there was little chance of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Faced with expanding Jewish settlements, almost as many Palestinians believed the two-state solution was no longer viable. Under Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister since David Ben-Gurion, the reality of life today is more akin to an “apartheid state”, as veteran journalist Akiva Eldar has said: “One state for two peoples – first-class citizens and second-class citizens”.
In this study Ian Black, the Guardian’s former Middle East editor, explores the origins of this most bitter and intractable conflict from the first Zionist settlements in the 1880s, through the founding of the state of Israel in 1948 – known as the “Nakba”, or catastrophe, to Palestinians – to the Trump era.
Black concludes: “There is no sign whatsoever that this conflict is about to end, so understanding it matters more than ever.” His detailed and even-handed account, the result of exhaustive archival research and 40 years of journalistic experience on the ground, is the perfect place to start.
Enemies and Neighbours by Ian Black (Penguin Books Ltd, £16.99). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.