ABSTRACT
Most students of the history of Arab-Jewish relations have come to take for granted the stubborn resistance of the continuing dispute to any form of lasting and "reasonable" solution. The explanations and interpretations of the conflict offered by these men and women will vary with their initial assumptions. One common assumption is that this conflict, although difficult and seemingly intractable, is like all other conflicts and ought to be resolvable in the end. From this starting-point many writers have been tempted to explore the history of the conflict by concentrating on the missed opportunities for peace. Some have singled out the extraneous third-party interference which has apparently prevented the main protagonists from settling their differences. Others have chosen to admonish one or more of the parties involved, either for its lack of foresight and wisdom, or else for its evil or misguided intentions. 1
