I will be evaluating the scholarship on a core question from Neil Caplan’s book,” The Israel-Palestine Conflict, Contested Histories, What are the true intentions of the Palestinians and the PLO: To eliminate the Jewish state of Israel and replace it with an Arab state of Palestine? Or to create a Palestinian Arab state in part of historic Palestine, to coexist alongside an Israeli Jewish state? ,. (212) . Caplan’s book gives a large variety of historical context and changes to the answer of this question. The first source I will analyze is an article on Aljazeera website called, Palestinian National Council to discuss ending ties with Israel. The articles main point is that the Palestinian Liberation Organization and other Palestinian factions will vote on a new 18 member council. …show more content…
Shafiq is former PLO member who gives a unique perspective on PLO actions from 1964 to 1993 when he resigned from the organization. His analysis of the international conflicts and perspectives gives context to the global view of the U.N on the overall PLO decision making process. His inclusion of the international perspective gives a fuller context than Caplan’s mostly two sided narrative on the Israel Palestine conflict. He argues that the main goal of the PLO was to achieve a just peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and to build a democratic state in Palestine for all its citizens. The author uses himself as a primary source and his memory and experiences within the PLO. The author recounts how the Israeli’s bombed his office, “ (Ḥūt n.d.)
The book really gives a personal in depth perspective behind the decisions made by the PLO leadership and their motives. The PLO felt like they were the victims of European, influence and that the Israel state would treat them like the British did under apart did rule to other