Intimate enemies : Jews and Arabs in a shared land / Meron Benvenisti.

Rev. English version of: Mehọl ha-hạradot.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

As Israelis and Palestinians negotiate separation and division of their land, Meron Benvenisti, former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, maintains that any expectations for "peaceful partition" are doomed. In his controversial book, he raises the possibility of a confederation of Israel/Palestine, the only solution that he feels will bring lasting peace. The seven million people in the territory between Jordan and the Mediterranean are mutually dependent regarding employment, water, land use, ecology, transportation, and all other spheres of human activity. Each side, Benvenisti says, must accept the reality that two national entities are living within one geopolitical entity-- their conflict is intercommunal and will not be resolved by population transfers or land partition. A geographer and historian by training, Benvenisti conveys the perspective of both Israeli and Palestinian communities. He recognizes the great political and ideological resistance to a confederation, but argues that there are Israeli Jews and Palestinians who can envision an undivided land, where attachment to a common homeland is stronger than militant tribalism and segregation in national ghettos. Acknowledging that equal coexistence between Israeli and Palestinian may yet be an impossible dream, he insists that such a dream deserves a place in any negotiations.