This book contradicts the dominant myth that incompetent, corrupt, and uncompromising Palestinian decision-makers are responsible for the lasting stalemate in the Middle-East Peace Process. It highlights recent political developments in Palestine that fundamentally redefine important parameters of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Contrary to public perception, new political trends in the Palestinian Territories bolster prospects for the realisation of Palestinian national aspirations. Michael Bröning identifies key indicators which fundamentally question dominant Israeli narratives and pose an unprecedented strategic challenge to the Israeli leadership. These include the re-invention of Hamas, the reform of the Fatah movement, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s state-building efforts and the surge of non-violent resistance against Israel.

This persuasive book forces us to reconsider the perceived wisdom that the Palestinians are powerless to influence events as they struggle for peace.

Michael Bröning is Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in the Palestinian Territories and previously represented FES in Jordan and Iraq. He has written on Middle East politics in Foreign Affairs, New Statesman, Der Spiegel and Die Zeit.

Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
1. Progress and Stagnation
2. The Myth of a Missing Palestinian Partner
3. Change in Palestine
II. HAMAS IN TRANSITION
1. “What is there to Talk About?”
2. Changing Hamas: On Theory and Pragmatism
3. Embracing Statehood: Hamas in Gaza
4. Tremors of Change: “Hamas 2.0”?
5. Prospects for Western Engagement with Hamas
III. CHANGING FATAH
1. Looking Back: Ambiguity, Symbolism and Stagnation
2. Re-inventing Fatah: The Sixth General Conference of 2009
3. Making Fatah Work: The Challenges Ahead
IV. PNA STATE-BUILDING: PUTTING PALESTINE ON THE MAP
1. The “Fayyad-Plan”: Parameters of a Technocratic Revolution
2. One Year into State-Building: A Preliminary Evaluation
3. Turning Wine into Water? The Ambiguities of Fayyadism
4. Fayyad: Palestinian Messiah or Traitor to the Cause?
V. BEYOND TERROR: POLITICISING NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE
1. Non-Violence: The Forgotten Resistance
2. Current Trends of Non-Violence
3. Non-violence: Does It Work?
4. A Hammer Looking for a Nail? Israeli Responses
5. Challenges of Non-Violence
VI. EPILOGUE
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography