A Palestine that might have been

Abstract

Despite unremitting, decades-long attempts to present the narrative and history of the Palestinian struggle as Israel, the US and western powers would have us see it, there has been a persistent and enduring counter-view, backed by meticulous academic research, political and personal involvement, direct experience, campaigning and historical analysis, that continues to be expressed from myriad perspectives and in myriad ways. Some of the most significant of these recent works, on Hamas, the PLO, Palestinian prisoners in Israel, US/Palestine negotiations, and the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign, are examined in depth here. Their authors include Shafiq al-Hout, Sara Roy, Omar Barghouti, Beverley Milton-Edwards and Stephen Farrell, Abeer Baker and Anat Matar, and Clayton Swisher. Taken together, these works provide an effective antidote to the propaganda on the conflict.