09.12: Israeli Security & Palestinian Politics

“I have often said that Yasser Arafat had the capability but not the intention to make peace and that Mahmoud Abbas had the intention but not the capability to end the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. This book, The Last Palestinian, offers an excellent portrait of Mahmoud Abbas. It shows the periods when he demonstrated the courage to argue within the PLO for dealing with Israel and later for opposing terror, especially during the Second Intifada. But it also shows that when his choice was between making peace or accepting his political constraints, he was guided by the latter. For anyone who wants to understand more about the president of the Palestinian Authority and what is happening to the Palestinian national movement, this is a must-read.”

—Ambassador Dennis Ross, counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former American peace envoy

Amir Tibon is the Washington correspondent for Haaretz newspaper, where he covers the U.S-Israel relationship and the peace process. His articles on these issues have been published in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Foreign Affairs and other leading U.S. publications. In 2015, he was nominated for a National Magazine Award.

Grant Rumley is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he focuses on Palestinian politics. Grant has published in leading media outlets including Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, and contributed commentary to The New York Times, Reuters, and Newsweek. He is the author of the 2015 FDD report “The Race to Replace Mahmoud Abbas: Understanding and Shaping Palestinian Succession.”