The deadly embrace: the impact of Israeli and Palestinian rejectionism on the peace process

Abstract

The purpose of this book is three-fold: First, drawing on a wide array of primary and secondary sources, it aims to compare and contrast the historical roots, goals, strategies, organizational structures, and current activities of Palestinian and Israeli opponents of any mutual compromise. Second, the book assesses the dynamic interaction of two rejectionist movements, espousing mutually exclusive political agendas and demonstrates how they feed off and reinforce each others enmities. Third, the book seeks to expose to public scrutiny a deeply-entrenched phenomenon that has continued to lurk in the shadows, while enjoying both tacit and direct support from segments within the American Arab and Jewish communities. Although such recent outrages as the Hebron massacre, the Rabin assassination and the spate of suicide bombings in Israel's cities have re-centered attention on Middle Eastern terrorism, the primary focus has been on lone actions of deranged individuals. In contrast, the authors contend that what we have witnessed thus far is merely the tip of the iceberg-overt manifestations of a deep-seated, festering problem, namely: increasingly militant insurgent movements, united in their near-term aim of destroying the peace process, but ultimately sworn to destroy each other. The book concludes with a set of policy choices and recommendations which the U.S., Israel and the Palestinian National Authority should pursue in tandem to marginalize the rejectionist threat, before it escalates to hitherto unimaginable levels of violence. Co-published with the National Institute of Public Policy.