A relentless war against the Palestinians has been portrayed as Israeli self defence, even as a search for peace. Meanwhile any resistance has been portrayed as the obstacle to peace, even as terrorism. Through this storyline, the so-called ‘international community’ has legitimised the Zionist occupation of Palestine through its imitation of these policies in the global ‘war on terror’.

Pappe’s latest book is an informative account of the history of Palestine from the mid-Eighteenth Century until the recent war on Iraq. It covers vital historical periods including the fall and division of the Ottoman Empire, British Mandate Palestine, the creation of Israel, the various Arab-Israeli wars, the invasion of Lebanon, the Intifadah and the failed Oslo Accords.