Overview

John Quigley brings a necessary international law perspective to bear on the seemingly intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict in this updated edition of his important book. Since 2000, the cycle of bloodshed and retribution has spiraled increasingly out of control. Quigley attributes the breakdown of negotiations in 2000 to Israel's unwillingness to negotiate on the basis of principles of justice and law. He argues that throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, established tenets of international law--and particularly the right of self-determination--have been overlooked or ignored in favor of the Zionists and then the Israelis, to the detriment of the Palestinians. In this volume, Quigley provides a thorough understanding of both sides of the conflict in the context of international law. Quigley contends that the Palestinians have a stronger legal claim to Jerusalem than do the Israelis; that Palestinian refugees should be repatriated to areas including those within the borders of Israel; and that Israel should withdraw from the territory it occupied in 1967. As in his earlier volume, Quigley provides an extensively documented evaluation of the conflict over the last century, discussing the Zionist movement, the League of Nations' decision to promote a Jewish homeland in Palestine, the 1948 war and creation of Israel, and Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights during the 1967 war. Quigley's argument is not narrowly pro-Palestinian. He believes that Israel should exist, and in his analyses of the contentions on both sides of the conflict, the Palestinians do not escape critique. What Quigely asserts is absolutely vital to the achievement of peace and security is what he provides here: an understanding of the role international law has or--more accurately--has not played in the conflict over the last century.

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9780822335399

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Reviews

One of the best book-length summaries currently available of the historical case for the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state. As a primer on what Palestinians understand the historical reality over the past century to have been, there is today no better guide than John Quigley's updated and revised version of his first edition... This volume should be included on all academic reading lists dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian question... Especially now, The Case for Palestine is worth the attention of US government officials engaged in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Quigley is to be commended for having compressed the work of a lifetime into this short, accessible, and copiously documented book. --Antony T. Sullivan, Law & Politics Book Review Quigley's notes and sources are useful. --Journal of Palestine Studies The Case for Palestine is a concise, well written book with invaluable summary of historical background for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. John Quigley's dispassionate analysis and presentation of unbiased historical facts from credible sources overwhelmingly serves to educate and inform any reader... It should be considered a must read for all those interested in a comprehensive overview of the legal issues surrounding this conflict and for all those interested in bringing about a long-lasting, durable peace and justice in the holy land. --Ghaleb Darabya, International Third World Studies Journal and Review The Case for Palestine, in clear language and persuasive legal argument, draws the conclusion that the Israel-Palestine conflict is not unsolvable... Quigley's book is a dispassionate, objective review of the key legal principles and rights underlying the Palestine-Israel conflict... A reader of this book should come away with the conclusion that a law-based framework may well be the single most important precondition for a lasting resolution of this 'intractable' conflict. -- Susan Akram, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East Quigley provides us with a thorough, documented treatment of the subject, and he is quite objective... Since a legal analysis involves the facts of the case as much as the legal principles involved, Quigley's book amounts to a history of the conflict... --Glenn E. Perry, Digest of Middle East Studies This impressive book was written to further peace through better understanding of the Israeli/Palestinian situation. The book is highly readable... It will stun many of us who thought we understood much of this historical background... The Case for Palestine is an important contribution to public understanding and should give readers the confidence to speak knowledgeably about this situation. -- Karin Brothers, Peace Magazine

Author Information

John Quigley is President’s Club Professor in Law at Ohio State University. He is the author of several books, including Flight into the Maelstrom: Soviet Immigration to Israel and Middle East Peace and The Ruses for War: American Interventionism since World War II.

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