The Middle East Peace Process: at a Critical Point

The Israeli pullout from Gaza settlements is a hard bridge to cross for both sides. It is a very critical point these next few weeks, as the NYT article linked to the title of this post explains. Many political leaders have had their legacies enhanced or marred by the political positions they have taken over time on this thorny issue. And historians do not agree on how much credit or blame to assign to these leaders. But what we all know is that peace for the good people who live in Israel and Palestine has eluded Middle East leaders for far too many decades.
The issue is one that has fascinated me for some unknown reason, and I have followed it closely since the turn of the century. I'll share, for what it is worth, a list of books that I have read that enhanced my understanding of the main characters and the drama they have been writing together for these long decades. The books are focused mostly in the 1990-present period. The Clinton Administration worked very hard, in my opinion, to bring peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But they failed for a variety of reasons that became rather clear as I read these books. I have listed them in the order I think are most helpful:

• Dennis Ross Book, The Missing Peace
• Madeleine Albright’s book, Madam Secretary: A Memoir
• President Bill Clinton’s book, My Life
• Thomas W. Lippman’s book, Madeleine Albright and the New American Diplomacy
• David Gergen’s book, Eyewitness to Power
• Sidney Blumenthal’s book, The Clinton Wars

And here are a couple of books I have not read. They look interesting because of the subject matter. Yasser Arafat's successor is Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen). I became familiar with who he is mostly through the Albright and Ross books. He seems to be a key enabler of the progress made in the Israeli pullout because he is a man that Sharon has learned to deal with. The Neocon book might offer insight into the U.S. hands-off stance since the Bush administration came to power:

• Abu Mazen’s book Through Secret Channels: The Road to Oslo : Senior Plo Leader Abu Mazen's Revealing Story of the Negotiations With Israel
• Stefan Halper and Johathan Clarke’s book America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order

The key players in this drama seem to be the soon-to-be displaced settlers from the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian ("militant" or "political" groups, depending on where you stand) such as Fatah or Hamas. Israel's Benjamin "Bibi"Netanyahu has already resigned in protest. And we will see how Abbas and Sharon are able to exercise the kind of tough and persuasive leadership that could be their best legacies.