Israel and the Palestinians

The roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict lie, as with many conflicts in the global south, in the experience of western colonialism and perfidious imperial decisions. This chapter focuses on the structural and proximate causes of the Israel-Palestine conflict; briefly reviews the different ways in which the conflict is understood by the two actors themselves, and explains the context that led to the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangement (DOP). It assesses the DOP and subsequent agreements; the economic, political, and geographical framework implemented as a result; and the negotiations themselves. The chapter presents a short discussion of the most important lessons learned from the Israel-Palestinian peace process (IPPP). Israel has gained huge benefits from the IPPP, particularly that it ended its international isolation and allowed it to continue its colonial expansion and counterinsurgency repression under the veneer of respectability.