'In Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Raphael Cohen-Almagor meticulously examines the underlying causes of the numerous failures surrounding efforts to resolve this enduring conflict. Drawing upon an extensive array of interviews with key figures who were ‘in or around the room' during negotiation, mediation and facilitation efforts, he offers fresh insights that inform his vision for a viable framework to achieve a just and lasting peace. By integrating a highly diverse spectrum of perspectives, Professor Cohen-Almagor exemplifies his commitment to the Rawlsian veil of ignorance – an analytical approach he passionately advocates for in the quest for a just and sustainable resolution. This outstanding book is essential reading for anyone seeking a deep understanding of the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the potential pathways to peace.'
Salam Fayyad - Former Palestinian Prime Minister, Visiting Senior Scholar and Lecturer/Distinguished Visitor in Foreign Affairs, Princeton University
‘Cohen-Almagor's study of key landmarks in the ill-fated Israeli-Palestinian peace process should not be read as just one history book among many. This is a most significant contribution to the discipline of peace studies, drawing on lessons from other protracted conflicts, such as Northern Ireland. Cohen-Almagor leads us back to the forgotten fundamentals of the art of peacemaking, decodes the conditions needed for successful negotiations, strikes the right balance between the requirements of peace and the imperative of justice, addresses the philosophical question of what is a just peace, offers insights on how to deal with the ever-present spoilers, and scrutinises the indispensable role of the mediator while defending the case of small countries, such as Sweden and Norway, two moral superpowers with a keen vocation for a Middle East peace. In an era marked by war and gloom, Cohen-Almagor's book is a reassuring call for creative peace statesmanship.'
Shlomo Ben-Ami - Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs (2000–2001) and author of Prophets without Honor: The 2000 Camp David Summit and the End of the Two-State Solution
‘Spanning from the Oslo Accords of 1993 to the present day, this landmark volume offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of the Israel-PLO peace process. Drawing on extensive archival research and over one hundred interviews with senior officials from ten countries and the United Nations, Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor delivers a penetrating examination of the negotiations, the role of American mediation and the enduring obstacles to peace. With clarity and moral conviction, Cohen-Almagor unpacks the roots of the conflict and proposes a just and pragmatic framework for resolution. Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is essential reading for scholars of Middle Eastern politics, conflict resolution and diplomacy – and an indispensable resource for policymakers and diplomats seeking to seize future opportunities for peace.'
Aaron Barak - President (retd) Israel Supreme Court, and Israel's senior peace negotiator, Camp David 1978
‘A stunning and vitally important book! Professor Cohen-Almagor deserves hearty congratulations on accomplishing an almost insuperably difficult and fraught task of making sense of the failures and near misses of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and for synthesising decades of errors and trials into an immensely valuable and pathbreaking book.'
Robert I. Rotberg - President Emeritus, World Peace Foundation; Harvard Kennedy School
‘Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor has produced a seminal and monumental work in his highly impressive book entitled Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The manuscript is a labour of years and an unrivalled commitment to contributing significantly to both the academic and political realms. It's a treasure trove for those who seek the truth, as articulated by those who were active participants in the Middle East peace process. The materials in the book are craftily analysed and presented, shedding light on the past and offering insights to future negotiators seeking to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a tool for other Middle East conflict resolution experts. There are many lessons learned, offering wisdom and valuable detail. It is indispensable.'
Hiba Husseini - Attorney-at-Law and former legal advisor to the Palestinian Team to the Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations (1994–2008)
‘In Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor offers a penetrating critical study of peace negotiations, mediation and facilitation between Israel and Palestine. Drawing on over a decade of extensive research and dozens of interviews with key participants and commentators, he presents both a rich historical analysis as well as practical recommendations for advancing peace through negotiation and mediation. This important work deserves a place in the library of every scholar and of anyone deeply interested in the history of this enduring conflict and in pursuing constructive paths toward its resolution.'
Joel Singer - Legal Adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1993–1996) and principal negotiator of the 1993 Oslo Accord
‘The Abraham Accords of 2020 were indeed misrepresented as proof that Israel could circumvent the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by normalising relations with most Arab states. The events of the past two years painfully demonstrated how wrong this was. Professor Cohen-Almagor's new book is essential reading for those who wish to understand the depth of this conflict to gain fresh insights into the strategies that should be adopted for coping with it.'
Itamar Rabinovich - Prime Minister Rabin's ambassador to Washington and chief negotiator with Syria
‘Raphael Cohen-Almagor has undertaken a critical, urgent task: to probe why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has persisted for so long and descended into such depths of horror, despite countless attempts to resolve it. What distinguishes his work is not just the range of actors with whom he has engaged. It is that he has done so in a way few have done before, and all should emulate from now on. He listens. That is what makes his endeavour, and this book, so precious.'
Robert Malley - Senior Middle East advisor in the administrations of presidents Clinton, Obama and Biden. Co-author, with Hussein Agha, of Tomorrow Is Yesterday: Life, Death, and the Pursuit of Peace in Israel/Palestine
‘Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict brings to us the story of the conflict at one of its critical stages. With an artist's hand, Professor Cohen-Almagor outlines the course of events, brings us testimonies that have not been revealed until now, and presents a balanced, comprehensive and profound picture of the effort to achieve peace and its failure. His personal involvement in the process and his commitment to it are important advantages of the book. Indeed, there is no doubt that the uniqueness of the effort to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians during those critical years lies in the intensive involvement of peace activists and the importance of Track Two (dialogue between civil society movements and organisations and peace activists), which made it possible to bridge gaps and ultimately led to direct negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships and to historical compromises and agreements.'
Eyal Zisser - Yona and Dina Ettinger Chair in Contemporary History of the Middle East, and Vice Rector, Tel Aviv University
‘A brilliantly written masterpiece of scholarship. Dr Cohen-Almagor combines an elegant theoretical framework, drawing from the academic literature on justice, mediation and conflict resolution, with unparalleled archival research and dozens of interviews with the key Israeli, Palestinian, American and Jordanian figures of the past four decades to deliver a gripping and clear-eyed account of why the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords, the 2000 Clinton Camp David talks and the direct Olmert-Abbas negotiations in 2008 all failed. Dr Cohen-Almagor offers his own detailed, visionary and fair proposal that – if agreed through trusted mediation and implemented in good faith by all sides – could well be the key to unlocking the elusive search for Israeli-Palestinian peaceful coexistence.'
Steve Zipperstein - Director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies
‘Professor Cohen-Almagor's uniquely authoritative book, based on a wide-ranging series of interviews with many of those closely involved with attempts to resolve the tragically long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict, provides critical insights not just into the events of the past, but also into the complexities of the issues involved and the lessons to be learnt if – and to my mind it is a big if – a serious attempt is ever again made to find a just and sustainable solution. For those, like me, who have reluctantly concluded that the window of opportunity for a two-state solution – which would have been the ‘right' solution in terms of responding to two valid nationalisms – has now closed, it is a reminder that if hope should never be a strategy, despair should never be an option, and that however daunting and emotionally charged the issues involved, it is still possible to address them rationally, and to imagine the kind of leaders who would have the courage, insights and charisma to take their people down the ever-harder road to peace and security.'
Sir Tom Phillips - UK Ambassador to Israel 2006–2010 and to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2010–2012
‘Prof. Raphael Cohen-Almagor devotes most of his academic activity to the issue of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With his unique vision, his impressive analytical skills and his logical conclusions, he makes a very important contribution to the efforts of many of us to end the conflict that has been going on for so many years and has become the longest-running conflict in the world since the end of the Second World War. This is also reflected in his new book, which is recommended for anyone who has not lost hope that the conflict not only must end, but can end, and who understands that those who are convinced that it is insoluble simply do not want to solve it.'
Dr Yossi Beilin - former Israeli Justice Minister, and the initiator of the Oslo Process
