The Palestinians are now only of people lost in a quest anachronistic, as it refers to the concerns of the nineteenth century or the twentieth century: the quest for a state. Palestinian claims asserting, in effect, the period between the wars, but the Palestinians are the only ones with the Kurds, not to see their aspirations embodied in the wave of decolonization and formation of new states on the map of the world in the aftermath of the Second World War. The failed insurrection of 1936 was the first manifestation of Palestinian nationalism, which then falls into the dustbin of history, giving way to the conflict " Arab-Israeli "and not" Israeli-Palestinian . The Palestinian identity resurfaces through the character of Yasser Arafat, the battle of Karameh in 1968 and recognition of the PLO in 1974 by its leader's speech to the UN, but it was not until the 1990s that the West acknowledges the possible establishment of a Palestinian state through the Oslo process. This did not stop to let the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem, which hinders the daily birth of a viable Palestinian state. Because if the Palestinians are still stateless, it is also because their opponents are Israelis : A people regarded by Westerners as a brother in terms of values, while the weight of the Jewish genocide during World War II continues to weigh heavily on the conscience of Americans and Europeans. This problem has often taken precedence over the two-state solution that would, perhaps, to end the conflict tearing the region and for the world. It is this issue that this atlas, written by Jean-Paul Chagnollaud (professor of political science at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, director of the international journal Confluence Mediterranean) and Sid-Ahmed Souiah ( Professor of geography at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, geography researcher), in collaboration with Peter White (lecturer in geopolitics in the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, CIHEAM), attempts to answer.
The atlas is divided into four parts. In the first, "History and Society ," the authors trace the major steps that led to the birth of Palestinian nationalism and its demands, never satisfied. There is particular question of Palestine and its borders under the Empire Ottoman and the demographic issue linked to the Jewish settlement in Palestine in the early twentieth century. It then processes the plan the UN partition of 1947 and the formation of a Palestinian nationalism expressed through various parties, leading to the Palestinian Authority, and largely embodied in one man, Yasser Arafat. The second part, "Population and Societies ", discusses the major current dynamics of the Palestinian people. Are dealt with recent demographic changes the balance achieved in 2008 with the Israelis, forced displacement of population related the 1948 conflict and the Palestinian diaspora in the world, the question of the many refugee camps in neighboring Arab countries, and finally the original situation of Israeli Arabs. The third part, "The territories " constitutes the bulk of the atlas (almost half). The purpose revolves around three themes: the problem of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, the wall of separation that results and significance of the occupation is a first step. The confinement of the Gaza Strip and the issue of water resources are the second theme. Finally, the special status of Jerusalem in the conflict is the third point, discussed at length, this third and most of the atlas. The fourth and last part, " Peace deadlocked ," recalls the endless negotiations for the creation of a Palestinian state. The authors explain how the Oslo process was not successful, as the Camp David negotiations in 2000 failed to little. The situation appears to be blocked since the start of the second intifada (2000) and despite the interesting approach of the Geneva Initiative (2003). The game ends on legal issues international posed by the Israeli occupation of territories and the role of the UN in the conflict, including many resolutions were blocked, in fact, by the U.S. veto.
In conclusion, the authors are rather pessimistic about the possible evolution of the Palestinian national question. The Israelis seem, indeed, more than ever locked up in their " complex Masada," a trend shown by the right-hander found in the 2009 elections. As for the Palestinians, even if a certain weariness is emerging, it must be noted the population dynamics of these people lead a youth deprived of a future regularly to revolt against the present situation (where the regular intifadas every twenty years). But the Palestinian cause is now suffering a lot of division between the West Bank Fatah and Hamas Gazan. Given the lack of heavyweights in both secular opponents, then we understand better the role of the international community as a possible outcome, and particularly the United States and Europe. This is especially on the side of the first he may need to wait for change: the Obama administration must also, however, provide the means to a different policy. Otherwise, Gaza will remain an "open prison " and the policy of fait accompli in Jerusalem and will continue in the West Bank in favor of the Israelis, while the violence continues to shake a Palestinian people left to itself.
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