From Coexistence to Conquest

"I’m a lawyer as well as a writer so I’m interested in the legal aspects of the Palestinian conflict. Many books look at the legal side and many more at the history. This book combines the two: Kattan believes you can’t understand one without the other. I absolutely agree with him. He focuses on the period between 1910 and 1949, a time when many of the key Palestinian events took place. Looking at the origins of the conflict, we move from anti-Semitism to the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the refugee problem to the Palestinian right of return. In discussing these key issues, he places the law in a historical context. I don’t think he is biased – he tries to cover this story from every aspect. Richard Falk, a professor of international law at Princeton, endorses the book with a forward. I think Kattan gives a very good overview of the situation."