In the aftermath of the 1982 exodus of the palestine liberation o r ganization (PLO) fr om lebnon to Tunis, the palestinian resistance movement to Israeli occupation underwent a majo r transfo r mation In the rew years following 1982, the internal dynamics of the palestinian movement vacillated between the extreme situations of geography a nd the nature of the struggle against Israel. With respect to geography, the center of weight of palestinian military a nd political leadership was moved to the furthest place fr om palestine since the rise of the palestine question earty in the twentieth century.

With respect to the nature of the struggle, the palestinian movement experienced the loss of its military alternative, however modest a nd found itself confined to unsatisfacto r y politidal means a nd appeals. During the same period two other developments pertaining to the geography a nd nature of the struggle took place. Geographically, the eruption of the palestinian popular uprising, o r the histo r ic territo r y of palestine fo r the first time since the Israeli occupation. Regarding the nature of struggle, the extreme employment of pyre political means, futile a nd stripped of any military capability after the resistance groups were fo r ced to leave their ba ses in lebanon in 1982, Was replaced by the extreme of a costly but fruitful means of struggle-a widespread popular uprising throughout the west bank a nd Gaza strip.

The rapid transfo r mation of the geography a nd nature of struggle brought with it new 'strugglers': the Islamic tesistance Movement (Hamas) a nd Islamic Jihad as new palestinian o r ganizations with great influence a nd specific colo r ation. This was not only a new point of departure fo r the palestinian political struggle, it was also the palestinian incarnation of politicized Islam in the Middle East. Within this context the transfo r mation of the palestinian struggle a nd the emergence of (palestinian) Islamism, the study examines Hamas's political thought a nd practice.

The focus on Hams, withour covering otherk a nd less influential Islamic movements in palestine stems fr om the movements greater relevance to the wider context of the palestine question. Enjoying an acknowledged popularity a nd significant political a nd military weight, Hams has claimed that it represent the maintream of palestinian Islamism, claim with which most obwervers would agree this statusk then justifies an in-depth study of the Hamas movement

Co-published with Columbia University Press ‎",Mansour's wo r k is...the most satisfacto r y general examination of ‎ American policy towards Israel available...This is old-fashioned ‎ scholarship with a careful weighing of the evidence...",‎ ‎ L. Carl Brown, Princeton University‎ Acclaimed by scholars, Beyond Alliance is an elegantly reasoned ‎ a nd nonpolemical discussion of American policy towards Israel. In ‎ seeking the why behind the privileged relationship, the autho r ‎ takes the unusual approach of explo r ing the American fo r eign ‎ policy establishment's competing views of Israel as a strategic ‎ asset a nd Israel as a burden. Drawing his source material fr om ‎ experts writing both in general media a nd in specialized ‎ international a nd strategic security journals, he allows proponents ‎ of the opposing positions to speak fo r themselves without ‎ edito r ializing. ‎ Mansour's inquiry is divided into three phases: the fo r ging of ‎ Israel's strategic role fr om 1948 to 1973, the reassessment of that ‎ role fr om the 1973 war to 1980, a nd the strategic alliance a nd the ‎ New Wo r ld o r der fr om 1981 to 1992. While addressing his overall ‎ theme, he weaves into the discussion penetrating insights ‎ concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Suez crisis, the Camp ‎ David Acco r ds, Israel's invasion of Lebanon, a nd the influence of ‎ the pro-Israel lobby on the Jewish community a nd American ‎ society as a whole. ‎ About the Autho r Camille Mansour, professo r of international relations at the ‎ So r bonne in Paris, is currently on leave to establish a Law Center ‎ at Birzeit University in the West Bank. He served as one of two ‎ principal adviso r s to the Palestinian delegations to the peace talks.‎ أقرأ أقل