In his probing, startling fresh analysis of the Hashemite-Zionist struggle for Palestine—the area of the earlier British mandate that is today occupied by the states of Israel and Jordan—Martin Sicker cuts through the polemic that has clouded fundamental aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Sicker reveals the essential background of the problem over the past seventy-odd years in its real political context.

Dispelling the notion of a "root cause," the author demonstrates that resolution of the crisis depends on a new, clear understanding of the history of the conflict. He examines not only the Hashemite and Zionist hostilities but also the alternately useful and detrimental aspects of Great Britain's involvement and, later, that of the United States. In addition, the future of Israel-Jordan relations is shown to be the key to any resolution for the future of Palestine.