The Neck and the Sword.

An interview with the world-renowned historian of Palestine, Rashid Khalidi, conducted by Tariq Ali. The interview provides an in-depth history of Palestinian struggles for statehood, beginning with the often-forgotten Arab Revolt of 1936-39 which Khalidi connects directly to the Nakba of 1947-48. Within this context, Khalidi discusses the changing class structure of the Arab world in the late 1940s, the partitioning of Palestine, and the displacement of refugees to Gaza, before moving on to consider the significance of the Six-Day War of 1967. Khalidi also examines the evolution of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) from a focus on armed struggle and the liberation of Palestine towards negotiations over a two-state solution. Hamas emerged in the late 1980s as a response to this shift in focus by the PLO, Khalidi contends. The interview ends with a discussion of Palestine's complicated relationship with contemporary Arab regimes, the strategic calculations--and miscalculations--by Hamas in the October 7 attacks, and the likelihood of an Israeli occupation of Gaza. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]