Lords of the Land: The War Over Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007 [Paperback]

Idith Zertal (Author), Akiva Eldar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2009

The 1967 Arab-Israeli War was a devastating triumph for Israel, which immediately began to establish settlements in the newly conquered territories. Those settlements, and the movement that made them possible, have utterly transformed Israel, and yet until now the full history of the occupation has never been told. Lords of the Land tells that tragic story, and reveals what a catastrophe it has been for both Israel and the Palestinians.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thorough and eye-opening." The Economist "Lords of the Land lets no-one off the hook." London Review of Books"

About the Author

Professor Idith Zertal, a leading Israeli historian, whose essays have been published around the world, is the author of many books and articles on Jewish, Zionist and Israeli history. She currently teachers at the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Basel, and lives in Israel and Switzerland. Akiva Eldar is currently the chief political columnist and editorial writer for the Israeli daily Ha'aretz. His columns also appear regularly in the Ha-aretz-Herald Tribune edition. In May 2006 the Financial Times selected him among the most prominent and influential commentators in the world. He lives in Israel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books; Reprint edition (June 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568584148
• ISBN-13: 978-1568584140
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #799,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Book, November 5, 2007

By 

Mr. Shaun Jackson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lords of the Land: The War for Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007 (Hardcover)

'Lords of the Land' is unquestionably the definitive account of the settler movement written so far. It sets out in rich detail how successive Israeli governments, including Labour ones supported this disastrous enterprise. It chronicles how Sharon and others on the Israeli right were instrumental in the enterprise. Further then that - it details how intertwined the IDF and government ministries have been with the settlers.

Particularly interesting are the sections regarding the legal mechanisms that have been used over the years for the purpose of settlers aquiring land such as the earlier attempt in the Beth El case to cloke settlements as a "security" consideration to the more sophistacted attempts to turn land in the West Bank into "state land" and ultimately then land for the settlers.

Anyone who cares about peace between Israelis and Palestinian and a two-state solution ought to read this book. Anyone who may naively have thought the settlers were brave Zionist pioneers are likely to be disappointed - if anything, the settlers represent the very opposite - a distortion of Zionism.

68 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The settlements are illegal under both international and Israeli domestic law., October 13, 2007

By 

Alex Bueno-Edwards "break out of the cage in ... (B-W, Germany) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lords of the Land: The War for Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007 (Hardcover)

A previous reviewer made the shocking (but incorrect) assertion that the legality of the settlements is somehow in question. She is absolutely incorrect. See Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which explicitly stipulates: "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."
Perhaps she should have read the footnotes of this excellent book, or just searched for the terms "prohibition on settlement of occupied territory" to see a comprehensive discussion of this question from a legal perspective.
Obviously many other people (not only the previous reviewer) may somehow fail to understand that the prohibition on settlement on occupied territory was designed specifically to prevent projects like the Nazi plans for Poland, in which large numbers of civilians were transferred to establish agricultural colonies in various areas. The prohibition is absolute and non-derogable (which means that a country can't opt out of it under certain conditions).
As such, the (il)legality of the settlements under international law is almost universally accepted, with the exception of a VERY small number of scholars seeking to justify this blatant breach of international humanitarian law (the law of war). This excellent book shows how the settlement movement has not only violated international humanitarian law, but also Israeli domestic law (see, for example, the Israeli Supreme Court decision ruling that settlements built on the land of the Palestinian village of Belin were illegal since they were built on land stolen from private owners, yet still allowing the Israeli settlers who broke into the unfinished buildings to remain in the homes).
An excellent, well-researched, and highly relevant book.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long overdue, January 27, 2008

By 

D. ROSEN (Newton, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lords of the Land: The War for Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007 (Hardcover)

(This review is of the Hebrew edition of the book). This is a very well written and extremely well investigated book looking into one of the great tragedies of modern times. Rather than try and use the territories captured in 1967 to help solve the Palestinian refugee problem created with its establishment in 1948, Israel decided to colonize them in a way that would make it very hard ever to disengage from them. This book looks at the process through which this occurred, as well as the effects subjugating another people for the last 40 years has had on Israeli society.