Anglo-American Diplomacy and the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1948-51

Between 1948 and 1951, there was a concerted effort by Britain and the US to find a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem. Mutual self-interest drove the two powers to facilitate international and UN relief efforts as well as to open a diplomatic initiative to find a solution to the refugee crisis that had emerged as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War over Palestine. Based on a range of archival sources, this volume analyses the diplomatic efforts of the two powers to solve the refugee problem while it was still in its infancy. It examines British and US attitudes towards the means and mechanisms for the facilitation of an Arab-Israeli reconciliation. It explains why Britain and the US were unable to reconcile the local parties to an agreement on the future of the Palestinian refugees and, in their failure, how they squandered a unique and real opportunity to find a solution to a problem that has marred Arab-Israeli negotiations to this very day.

Author: S. Waldman
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Published: 02/10/2015
Pages: 281
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.60w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781137431509

About the Author
Simon A. Waldman is Lecturer in Middle Eastern Studies at King's College London, UK. He teaches the Arab-Israeli Conflict, statebuilding in the Middle East and Turkish history and politics.