Twelve must-read books about history of Israel-Palestine conflict

These titles provide perspective of the background of current events

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates If I Must Die: Poetry and Prose by Refaat Alareer; Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew by Avi Shlaim. Photo: Penguin Random House, Bloomsbury., OR Books

Nearly a year and a half on from the beginning of the Israel-Gaza War, the continuing horrors continue. And with reverberations still strongly felt far beyond Palestine, the conflict continues to hold the world's attention as millions refuse to give up hope for peace.

But as often repeated, the conflict did not begin on October 7, 2023 and historical context is needed to make sense of current events. Below are 12 books that may help. This is by no means an exhaustive guide, but the titles listed here should give readers perspective on some of the key historical threads at work in the region today.

The Message (2024)

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Photo: Penguin Random House

Most of the books on this list are written by those with a personal connection to Palestine. Take-off-Nahisi Coates's The Message is not, and that's part of what makes it so valuable.

Within the book of essays, the famed author and advocate for the black American community writes pointedly about his first trip to Palestine as a guest of a book fair, where he was witness to a system that he found similar to what the black community had endured before the civil rights movement.

Through that lens, he surveys the history of both Zionism and the Palestinian cause in a way that is accessible to a global audience, particularly because it remembers the lesson of Martin Luther King Jr: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The Question of Palestine (1979)

The Question of Palestine by Edward Said. Photo: Vintage

Written by Edward Said, a celebrated Palestinian-American academic, literary critic and political activist, this is an illuminating piece of literature that expands on the tensions between Palestinians and Israelis, while showing how the conflict is perceived and reflected in the West.

The book was originally written in 1979, but was updated in 1992 to reflect on the way events like the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the intifada and the Gulf War impacted the Palestinian struggle.

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (2006)

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe. Photo: Oneworld Publications

Written by Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine details the Nakba of 1948, when hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed and more than 700,000 Arabs forcibly displaced, during the creation of the state of Israel.

Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew (2024)

Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew by Avi Shlaim. Photo: Bloomsbury

The Israel-Palestine conflict is often boiled down to a two-sides issue, ignoring the diverse communities in either camp. Jewish-Iraqi author Avi Shlaim's memoir is a first-hand account from within one of those oft-ignored communities – the many Arabs who moved to Israel from across the region and the alleged racism and inequality they experienced once they moved to what had been billed as a utopia.

Moreover, Shlaim's book makes strong allegations against the mid-20th century Zionist movement, claiming that it was members of that community that conducted bombings against Iraqi Jews to motivate them to flee to Israel, and their story was subsequently rewritten to serve a Zionist narrative.

Six Days: How the 1967 War Shaped the Middle East (2003)

Six Days: How the 1967 War Shaped the Middle East by Jeremy Bowen. Photo: Gardners Books

A book by former BBC Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen. As the title suggests, Six Days highlights the events leading up to and around the war between Israel and several Arab nations in 1967. It breaks down the conflict hour by hour, examining decisions and military tactics of Israel and Egypt, Jordan and Syria.

The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood (2006)

The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood by Rashid Khalidi. Photo: Beacon Press

In The Iron Cage, Palestinian-American historian Rashid Khalidi explores the history of the Palestinian struggle for independence, starting from the aftermath of the Ottoman Empire, when British colonial forces took over Palestine. Khalidi begins with the British mandate period and the arrival of Jewish immigrants, through to the Nakba and the modern era.

I Saw Ramallah (1997)

I Saw Ramallah by Mourid Barghouti. Photo: Anchor

An autobiographical work by the late Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti, I Saw Ramallah was first translated into English in 2000 by Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif. It follows Barghouti’s attempt to return to Palestine from Egypt after the 1967 war. He was barred from entering.

It took him another 30 years to finally be able to return to the town he grew up in. It is a gripping first-hand perspective of the difficulties Palestinians face while trying to travel within the country or return to it.

In Search of Fatima (2002)

In Search of Fatima by Ghada Karmi. Photo: Verso Books

Written by Ghada Karmi, this autobiography offers a first-hand account of the events of 1948. Born in Jerusalem in 1939, Karmi travelled to the UK after the Nakba, spending formative years in a Jewish suburb in London. The book is a poignant and moving read, exploring the effects of displacement while major events shift the political landscape in the Middle East.

My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel (2013)

My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit. Photo: Random House

Another book by an Israeli author, My Promised Land draws from archival documents, interviews, as well as private correspondences and diaries.

At its heart is the story of author Ari Shavit’s family, beginning with Shavit’s great-grandfather, a British Jew who arrived in Palestine in 1897.

Shavit’s book expands on the perspective of Jewish people who arrived in Palestine at the turn of the century and tries to offer a multifaceted perspective of the creation of Israel.

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 (2020)

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi. Photo: Metropolitan Books

Another work by Khalidi highlights a letter written in 1899 by the author’s great-great-uncle, Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, mayor of Jerusalem.

In the letter, al-Khalidi addresses Theodor Herzl, the founding father of the Zionism movement, as the mayor was taken aback by the Zionist calls to create a Jewish state in Palestine.

The book, as a whole, highlights a trove of archival materials, personal letters and multigenerational reports to show the continued challenges Palestinians face under occupation.

We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I (2022)

We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir by Raja Shehadeh. Photo: Penguin Random House

This memoir by Palestinian author and lawyer Raja Shehadeh presents a portrait of a unique father and son relationship against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Shehadeh’s father, Aziz, was a prominent lawyer and activist. He specialised in land cases, specifically defending Palestinians whose land had been seized by Israeli forces.

He was also actively involved in the political arena, and was one of the first Arabs to propose the establishment of an autonomous Palestinian state. Aziz Shehadeh was murdered in 1985. He was stabbed to death outside his home in Ramallah.

Understandably, Aziz’s death was life-altering for his son, Raja. The two had a somewhat strained bond. Differing perspectives on how to approach the Palestinian struggle weighed heavy on their relationship, as did parental expectations.

We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I addresses the complexities of their relationship. The book touches upon themes of identity and family and how they are impacted by political turmoil. It is a moving account of individual struggle within a larger sociopolitical context, while also containing universal topics of familial reconciliation.

If I Must Die (2024)

If I Must Die brings together essays and poetry by Refaat Alareer. Photo: Or Books

Palestinian writer Refaat Alareer was killed in an Israeli air strike in December 2023 along with his sister, brother, and four of his nephews and nieces. His works have proliferated across the internet as an anthemic expression of the harrowing experiences that Gazans have been facing for decades.

Alareer’s works have been released in a collection titled If I Must Die, named after his 2011 poem that became an internet sensation. The book includes essays and poetry that go back to 2010, as well as writing that following Israel’s invasion of Gaza in October 2023.

If I Must Die offers a different vantage point into the Palestinian experience. It may not delve into the historical aspects of the conflict as some of the other titles, but it does provide a more emotive lens from which to understand the struggle.

It contains works of scathing satire that delineate the cruelty of the Israeli onslaught, taking cues from Jonathan Swift’s classic 18th century essay A Modest Proposal.

Some pieces delve into tragic moments in Alareer’s life, such as the death of his brother, Mohammed, by an Israeli air strike. Others touch upon significant moments in Gazan history, such as the deaths of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni and Mustafa Tamimi, a 28-year-old Palestinian taxi driver.