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How peace broke out in the Middle East: How peace broke out in the Middle East

Pessimism dominates discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet the idea that the time is not ripe for peace implies that some more auspicious moment will arise – at some future unspecified date. In reality, continuing on the well-trodden path of...

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  • How peace broke out in the Middle East
  • By Tony Klug
  • Published 1 June 2007

Pessimism dominates discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet the idea that the time is not ripe for peace implies that some more auspicious moment will arise – at some future unspecified date. In reality, continuing on the well-trodden path of irredeemable despair simply postpones peace indefinitely and promises interminable ferment. The contours of the only equitable settlement are well known. Whether the main actors seize the chance is primarily a question of political will.

The curious history of the Middle East is of both war and peace breaking out when least expected. When Sadat visited Jerusalem in 1977, another round of Egyptian-Israeli hostilities was widely anticipated. Few supposed that the sworn enemies Israel and the PLO could agree the Oslo Accord in 1993.

The deadlock can be broken again today. In a new Fabian paper, ‘How peace broke out in the Middle East: a short history of the future’, Tony Klug traces how an imagined but plausible series of unilateral gestures builds a potent momentum for peace.

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Author

Tony Klug

Dr Tony Klug has been a senior advisor on the Middle East to the Oxford Research Group and a consultant to the Palestine Strategy Group and the Israel Strategic Forum. He has written four Fabian pamphlets, the first of which, in January 1973, proposed a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He formerly headed the international development programme at Amnesty International.

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