This is a comprehensive summary of “The Hundred Years' War on Palestine” by Rashid Khalidi. The book explores a history of settler colonialism and resistance, 1917–2017.

what’s in it for me? a palestinian’s history of palestine.#

Introduction

hey, just a quick word from the content team at summarybook.org.

we know the history of the middle east is a contentious subject, and we know that many of you feel strongly about it.

we also know there are always many sides to every story.

these chapters present one side.

if you're interested in another, then check out the chapters to israel.

thanks and we hope you enjoy.

for decades now, the conflict between israel and palestine has been a consistent feature in headlines around the world.

to many, the ongoing tensions in this region appear both horribly tragic and unfathomably complicated.

while grasping a full picture of the contentious issue is difficult, it's always valuable to learn from those closely connected to the topic.

these chapters provide a thorough, well-grounded overview of palestinian history as told from the viewpoint of palestinians.

drawing on the work of respected academic rashid khalidi, this story combines archival research, primary sources and personal accounts to piece together a compelling and accurate chronicle of palestine from 1917 until today.

the colonization of palestine was accelerated by british rule.#

march 1st, 1899 yusuf diya al-khalidi, the mayor of jerusalem, mails a letter to theodor herzl, a viennese journalist and leader of the burgeoning zionist movement.

the missive, while just a short seven pages, proves to be extremely prescient.

in the letter, yusuf diya expresses his deep admiration for herzl and his dismay at europe's rampant antisemitism.

he describes jews and muslims as cousins.

however, he also cautions against herzl's vision for a jewish state in the middle east.

he points out that the zionist project would subjugate the region's indigenous population.

he ends the letter with a plea, writing, in the name of god, let palestine be left alone.

within a month, herzl responds.

he dismisses yusuf diya's concerns and argues that an influx of europeans would improve the lives of everyone in the region.

the key message here is, the colonisation of palestine was accelerated by british rule.

for four centuries, palestine was occupied by the ottoman empire.

the population was about 94% arab muslim with a small minority of jews and christians.

while the region was largely agricultural, it was slowly modernising with railways, electricity and improved access to education.

however, this all changed in 1917.

world war i ended ottoman rule and the british took control of palestine.

in november of that year, the british issued the balfour declaration.

this statement declared the formation of a jewish national home in palestine.

while the document promised to protect the civil and religious rights of the region's non-jewish population, it made no mention of political rights or right to national self-determination.

and just like that, the zionist movement attained the backing of the world's largest colonial empire.

for palestinians, this new political reality was troubling.

just like their neighbours in syria, lebanon and iraq, they had developed a distinct national identity and wished to buck off the colonial grip of the european powers.

from 1919 until 1928, palestinians convened multiple congresses petitioning the british for independence.

however, all these appeals fell on deaf ears.

meanwhile, the zionist project continued.

in 1922, the league of nations issued the mandate for palestine.

over the course of 28 articles, this document laid the groundwork for jewish self-governance in the region, but failed to mention the arab majority at all.

backed by this legal framework, european jews continued to settle the area and their communities enjoyed almost exclusive access to foreign investment.

by the late 1920s, the jewish population of palestine had risen to nearly 20% and tensions had risen as well.

the nakba violently forced a majority of palestinians from their homes.#

chapter 2 of 7 as the 1920s rolled into the 1930s, palestine remained under british control.

during this time, the empire struggled to balance the region's competing factions.

the zionist movement continued bringing tens of thousands of settlers a year and the arab majority bristled against this new competition.

in 1937, the british attempted to quell tensions by partitioning the area.

the peel commission declared that 17% of the region would be reserved for a jewish state.

the plan pushed palestinians into open revolt.

over the next two years, the british violently suppressed arab uprisings, ultimately killing, wounding or imprisoning 10% of adult males in the country.

unfortunately, this strife only foreshadowed a greater struggle yet to come.

the key message here is, the nakba violently forced a majority of palestinians from their homes.

the ruptures of world war ii completely rearranged the political order of the middle east.

while the british retained close ties with the newly independent arab nations such as egypt and jordan, the united states and the soviet union were now major powers in the region as well.

this shift was grim for the prospect of palestinian independence because both superpowers, partially compelled by the horrors of the holocaust, were sympathetic to the zionist cause.

in november 1947, the united nations issued resolution 181.

backed by both the us and the ussr, this declaration partitioned palestine into two states, one jewish and one arab.

the jewish state was given 56% of the land.

but this partition did not hold.

the following spring, zionist militias launched plan dalet, a coordinated assault on the arab communities in jaffa, haifa and other villages.

using overwhelming force, the zionists displaced tens of thousands of arab families.

in the following months, zionist forces continued to violently besiege arab communities both within and outside of the un's partition.

this assault, known as the nakba or catastrophe, destroyed many arab economic, political and cultural centres.

while neighbouring arab nations made a half-hearted attempt to push back against the military action, divided loyalties, particularly jordan's desire to absorb palestine for itself, made the resistance ineffective.

when the dust settled in 1949, the region was transformed.

on may 15, 1948, israel declared itself a state.

the new polity controlled 80% of the former palestinian mandate.

more than 700,000 palestinians were forced off their land and became refugees.

meanwhile, 160,000 palestinian arabs remained inside israel where they faced an uncertain future.

the six-day war established israeli dominance and reawakened palestinian resistance.#

chapter 3 of 7 the six-day war of 1967 truly lives up to its name.

this short conflict fought between israel and its neighbours egypt, syria, jordan, iraq and lebanon hardly lasted a week.

the altercation stemmed from lingering animosity about israel's successful expansion in 1948.

egypt stoked the tensions by closing the straits of tiran to israeli shipping.

in response, israel launched a devastating pre-emptive air strike on the egyptian, syrian and jordanian air forces.

in the days that followed, israeli regiments would capture the west bank, the gaza strip and the entire sinai peninsula.

it all happened very quickly.

yet, despite their brevity, the hostilities and their aftermath shaped the fate of palestine for decades to come.

the key message here is, the six-day war established israeli dominance and reawakened palestinian resistance.

the six-day war didn't really present an existential threat to israel.

despite being outnumbered on paper, israel dominated its enemies in both military might and preparedness.

moreover, it enjoyed the explicit backing of the united states.

while the us was previously ambivalent about israeli military operations, president johnson saw the state as a bulwark against the ussr and gave the green light for the pre-emptive strike.

the united states' endorsement of israel's actions marked the beginning of a closer alignment between the two nations.

meanwhile, the un's response to the conflict further entrenched israeli control of palestine.

the security council issued resolution 242.

this document effectively locked in israel's controversial 1948 borders and gave the country extensive leeway in deciding when to withdraw from the territories it conquered in 1967.

even today israel occupies the west bank, east jerusalem and the golan heights.

resolution 242 also ignores palestine.

the text of the treaty only addresses relations between israel and the nations it battled – an omission that tacitly erases the notion that palestinians are a people or a nation.

yet despite this, the war reinvigorated the movement for palestinian liberation.

prior to the conflict, the palestinian cause was weakened and waning.

now, a generation since the nakba, it was emerging with new strength.

in the 1960s and 70s, exiled writers like emil habibi and ghassan kanafani were exploring palestinian identity in novels and short stories.

at the same time, political groups like the popular front for the liberation of palestine and the more militant organisation fatah were openly advocating for palestinian recognition and resistance under the banner of the palestinian liberation organisation, or plo.

in the wake of 1967, the more aggressive factions of fatah became a dominant voice in this palestinian struggle.

the lebanon war disrupted the plo but galvanized the palestinian movement.#

chapter 4 of 7 it's a sunny friday afternoon in beirut.

office workers are strolling home to start the weekend and families are out on leisurely shopping trips.

then suddenly – explosions.

the earth shakes as several 2,000-pound bombs detonate in the distance.

dozens more follow.

this is the opening foray of the 1982 lebanon war.

the hostilities begin with israeli air raids on beirut, the largest attack on an arab capital since world war ii, and continue with a full-scale ground invasion of southern lebanon.

the invasion is headed by israel's hawkish defence minister ariel sharon.

and his intentions are clear.

he hopes to crush the plo and, in so doing, ultimately quash the spirit of palestinian nationalism in the occupied territories of the west bank, gaza strip and east jerusalem.

the key message here is, the lebanon war disrupted the plo but galvanised the palestinian movement.

the lebanon war was not exactly unexpected.

in the decades since the six-day war, the plo had taken an increasingly aggressive stance toward israel.

for the most part, the organisation was anchored in lebanon where more than 300,000 palestinians lived as refugees.

throughout the 1970s and early 1980s the militant wing of the organisation scrimmaged with israeli forces and often launched rocket attacks across the border.

still, israel's response was shockingly fierce.

over the course of ten weeks the israeli military pummeled beirut from the air, ground and sea.

the assault was bolstered by the us which provided billions in aid, along with aircraft, tanks and other munitions.

the plo returned fire but their efforts were in vain.

the organisation was outgunned.

moreover, their cavalier actions prior to the war had alienated them from many allies in the arab world who could have helped.

in august, the plo agreed to withdraw from lebanon.

however, the war had already taken a toll.

indiscriminate bombing left the city in ruins and more than 19,000 palestinians and lebanese dead.

most were civilians.

even after the plo negotiated for peace, the violence continued.

in september 1982, israeli-backed lebanese militants called falangists massacred civilians at the sabra and shatila refugee camps.

more than 3,000 people were killed.

in the end, the entire offensive was only partially successful.

while israel managed to disrupt the plo's main base of operations, its aggressive tactics heightened tensions within the region and tarnished its reputation on the world stage.

and crucially, the concept of palestinian resistance did not die.

instead, the locus of the struggle moved.

in the coming years, palestinians in the occupied territories would push harder for freedom.

the intifada pushed israel into negotiations but produced an ill-conceived treaty.#

chapter 5 of 7 in some ways, the next phase of palestinian resistance began with a discrete event.

one night in december 1987, an israeli army vehicle struck and killed four palestinians in the jabilia refugee camp in gaza.

outrage about the collision sparked spontaneous demonstrations and protests that snowballed into an eight-year anti-colonial campaign called the first intifada, or uprising.

in other ways, though, the intifada was a long time coming.

for two decades after the six-day war, palestinians in the west bank, gaza strip and other territories had led increasingly precarious lives under israel's so-called enlightened occupation.

with the accumulated pressure of poverty and dispossession, frustrations were bound to pour over.

at first, the intifada seemed promising.

but its liberatory potential was squandered.

the key message here is, the intifada pushed israel into negotiations but produced an ill-conceived treaty.

throughout the 70s and 80s, israel tightened its grip on the occupied territories.

during this time, the country built more than 200 israeli settlements within its borders.

meanwhile, it suppressed any expression of palestinian nationalism.

everything from flying the flag to organising trade unions was punished with fines, beating or imprisonment.

the uprising itself departed from the plo's militant approach.

instead it emphasised civil disobedience like strikes, boycotts and public demonstrations.

the grassroots movement had widespread support, from educated professionals to the urban poor, and women took leadership roles.

while most actions remained peaceful, israel's response was often disproportionately violent and sometimes deadly.

the intifada's most iconic image is likely a photo of a small palestinian child throwing a rock at an advancing israeli tank.

by 1991 the intifada had pushed israel into official negotiations.

however, peace talks were fraught from the start.

for one, the plo represented the palestinians.

unfortunately, the organisation's leaders were inexperienced in diplomacy and, having been in exile since 1967, out of touch with life in the territories.

even worse, the talks were brokered by the us.

since 1975 the country had had an explicit agreement to only allow negotiations on terms pre-approved by israel.

the talks produced the oslo one and two accords.

these agreements were a disaster for palestine.

the terms allowed the plo to re-enter the territories and oversee a paltry form of self-government dubbed the palestinian authority, or pa.

in exchange, the plo officially recognised israel as a state and let it retain sovereign power over crucial issues like security, residency and the right to build more settlements.

plo leader yasser arafat celebrated the accords as a pathway to palestinian statehood, but they proved to be a poison pill in years to come.

continued israeli oppression fed the rise of militant groups like hamas.#

in chapter 6 of 7 let's look at daily life in the occupied territories one decade after the oslo accords.

for the average palestinian, life has only gotten worse.

the territories are divided and subdivided by an intricate network of israeli barriers and checkpoints.

travelling requires elusive government permits and those who obtain them are still subject to humiliating searches and extensive delays.

industrial trade is severely restricted and the economy is in ruins.

the unemployment rate in the gaza strip hovers around 50%.

in contrast, israeli settlers continue to arrive and travel freely on exclusive overpasses.

for its part, the plo offers little hope.

it mainly enforces the status quo.

but a new group is on the scene.

they're called hamas and they're promising radical change.

the key message here is, continued israeli oppression fed the rise of militant groups like hamas.

while the oslo accords offered hope to the palestinian people, by the year 2000 it was clear the arrangement was untenable.

israel continued to exercise heavy control over the territories.

tensions boiled over when ariel sharon, head of israel's conservative likud party, made a provocative excursion to east jerusalem.

demonstrations against the visit were quelled with live ammunition and the conflict escalated into a second intifada.

this uprising was more violent than the first.

during the eight-year conflict, the israeli military killed nearly 5,000 palestinians – mostly civilians.

and unlike the first intifada, a few palestinian groups responded with suicide bombings within israel.

many of these attacks were orchestrated by hamas, an insurgent group connected to the muslim brotherhood.

in the years prior, this militant party gained prominence as the plo failed to deliver its promises through diplomacy.

in contrast, hamas advocated a return to armed resistance.

the crisis escalated in 2006 when hamas won control of the palestinian authority.

in response to the unexpected electoral victory, israel imposed a full siege of gaza, cutting off water, electricity and effectively making it an open-air prison.

in return, hamas fighters periodically fired homemade rockets across the border.

to deter these attacks, israel followed the dahiyya doctrine, a policy that demanded overwhelming military retaliation, even in civilian areas.

following this pattern, israel made three major incursions into gaza.

the harshest came in 2014.

that year, hamas launched 4,000 rockets, killing five people inside israel.

as reprisal, israel bombarded gaza for 51 days with 6,000 air raids, 50,000 artillery shells and countless drone and helicopter attacks.

the assault killed thousands and levelled entire neighbourhoods, including housing, schools and hospitals.

both parties potentially committed war crimes, but the difference in magnitude was quite large.

palestine faces an uncertain future, but peace and justice are still possible.#

chapter 7 of 7 how do colonial occupations end?

if history is our guide, these unjust political arrangements conclude in one of three ways.

the first and most dire conclusion is the complete elimination or subjugation of the indigenous people.

such was the outcome of the united states' conquest of the american continent.

the second and most rare outcome is the full expulsion of the colonising power.

this came to pass with algerian independence in the 1960s.

the third and final endgame arrives through dismantling colonial supremacy and a serious movement toward reconciliation.

libya, south africa and ireland are key examples.

so which outcome is most likely for palestine?

at this point, it's hard to tell.

the key message here is, palestine faces an uncertain future, but peace and justice are still possible.

back in 1917, when the british issued the balfour declaration backing zionism, the colonising power gave little heed to the area's indigenous arab population.

in fact, the uk's foreign secretary arthur balfour deemed that the project of establishing a jewish homeland had a "...far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 arabs." as recent events show, in the intervening 100 years this attitude has scarcely changed.

just consider how the trump administration approached any issue connected to israel and palestine.

in 2017, the president recognised jerusalem as israel's capital and moved the us embassy to the city.

this rash decision upended a 70-year agreement to keep the holy city as a relatively neutral ground.

the change was made with no consideration for palestine's stake in the decision, or, as trump put it, "...we took jerusalem off the table so we don't have to talk about it anymore." moves like this, along with israeli domestic policies, exacerbate an already unequal political arrangement.

for instance, in 2018, the knesset, israel's national legislature, adopted a law that granted self-determination exclusively to jewish people, and elevated the creation of new jewish settlements to national value.

such a law contradicts israel's commitment to democratic values.

it marginalises palestinians both in the occupied territories as well as in israel proper.

for its part, palestinian resistance continues.

recently, the bds movement has gained prominence.

this student-led campaign aims to use boycotts, divestment and sanctions to pressure israel into recognising palestinian interests.

while the approach shows promise, true progress requires greater flexibility and solidarity among all factions of palestinians and their allies.

both palestinians and israelis feel a genuine connection to their homelands.

any path forward needs to grapple with this political and emotional reality.

final summary#

Conclusion

the key message in these chapters is that for more than 100 years the people of palestine have struggled against an unjust settler-colonial movement to occupy their homeland.

this ongoing project was originally instigated and backed by european powers.

it still receives material and political support from the united states today.

despite overwhelming pressure, palestinians continue to fight for recognition.

any future resolution requires that all people in the region attain full rights to live, work, travel and exercise self-determination.

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