ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides the necessary contemporary and historical background for readers to understand why the issue has been such a difficult one for the international community and for them to begin to formulate their own assessment of what will be needed to achieve a just solution to the conflict. It discusses with the decision by the United Nations in November 1947 to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The book then examines the evolution of the Israeli and Palestinian political systems and analyzes the variety of perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict represented in the decisionmaking bodies of the two national groups, the Israeli Knesset and the Palestine National Council. It also examines specific issues that will need to be resolved, such as state boundaries, citizenship rights, and the status of Jerusalem.
