The situation in the Middle East and the twists and turns of the Arab-Israeli conflict have always been the focus of international experts ' attention. Many books and articles on this topic have been written by our Orientalists, Israeli, American and Western European scientists. However, among these books there are few original and serious studies of Arab and especially Palestinian authors, for whom the situation in the Middle East is far from an abstract topic.
In this connection, one should pay attention to the book "On Palestinian Diplomacy" by Afif Safiye, former Ambassador of Palestine to Moscow, published in early 2009 by Krug publishing house in Russian with the assistance of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry (150 pages).
This short book includes lectures by A. Safiye in London - at the Royal Institute of Defense Studies and the Royal Institute of International Relations, in other research centers, and his speeches at mourning ceremonies on the occasion of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the famous Palestinian intellectual Edward Said. This book also includes a report by A. Safiye at an evening at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry in November 2008, dedicated to the International Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine.
Wherever Safiye spoke, he always spoke about Palestine, the problems of the Palestinian people, the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and the difficulties deliberately created by the Israelis that hinder the achievement of peace and stability in the Middle East. The author, who was a member of Arafat's inner circle and represented the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in London and Washington, took an active part in developing the positions of Palestinian delegations in negotiations with Israel. In his speeches, he cites a number of interesting factors related to the assessment of the situation in the Middle East.
For example, his assessment of the disappearance of the Soviet Union from the political map of the world is very interesting. The reaction of the United States and Israel to the collapse of the USSR, according to the ambassador, led to the loss of the "enemy" and served as an impetus for the emergence of an alternative global threat - the Islamic threat (p.31). His statement about Israel is also eloquent: "... the Israeli lobby does not suffer from a 'split personality'. When, on rare occasions, the US president accidentally disagrees with the Israeli Prime Minister, this lobby takes sides ...not the American president. Both the Bush family and son have experienced this in less than a decade" (p. 38).
And the last, which is perhaps of current importance in connection with the preparation of the Moscow Conference on the Middle East. "Peace in the Middle East," writes A. Safieh, " is too important to allow only one Israel to solve this issue. The downside of the peace process is that it has been relegated to the "local level". This has given Israel the illusion that only it can dictate the conditions and determine the limits of what is possible and permissible, and set the pace of progress in the peace process. All that remains is for us to negotiate against the backdrop of such a "pressing balance of power" (p. 120).
A. Safieh's book, written by a witness to the struggle of the Palestinian people for sovereignty, will find interested readers both in Russia and abroad.
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