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The representative of the Arab Higher Committee to the United Nations submitted a statement to the General Assembly in May 1947 that said, "Palestine was part of the Province of Syria" and that, "politically, the Arabs of Palestine were not independent in the sense of forming a separate political entity." A few years later, Ahmed Shuqeiri, later the chairman of the PLO, told the United Nations Security Council, "It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but southern Syria."

[...]

In 1931, Lewis French conducted a survey of Arab "landlessness" and eventually offered new lands to any Arabs who had been "dispossessed." British officials received approximately 3,200 applications, of which more than 2,600 were ruled invalid by the government's legal adviser because they came from Arabs who were not landless. This left only about 600 landless Arabs, 100 of whom accepted the government land offer. The masses of dispossessed Arabs apparently did not exist or simply were not interested in reacquiring land.

Mideast conflict origins (part 1)

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I went to Amazon to look at the reviews of The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Middle East Conflict, from which this excerpt comes from. Seems people either think the book is amazingly great, or really biased.

Here are the other books the author has written:

Myths and Facts : A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict
The Complete Idiot's Guide to World War II
The Complete History of the Holocaust (The Complete History Of)
From Tragedy to Triumph: The Politics Behind the Rescue of Ethiopian Jewry
The Water's Edge and Beyond : Defining the Limits to Domestic Influence on United States Middle East Policy
The Nuremberg Trials (At Issue in History)
Forgotten Victims: The Abandonment of Americans in Hitler's Camps

Personally, I think I'll pick up The Palistine-Israel Conflict (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1851682619/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/102-1129461-4080115).

Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
This publication offers a rare insight into the Palestinian-Israeli dilemma while outlining political, religious, historical, and emotional issues in the struggle for peace. It is unique in brilliantly bringing together two authors who represent the two peoples in the conflict: Cohn-Sherbok is Rabbi Professor of Judaism, and El-Alami is a lecturer in Islamic studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter. Each introduces his argument and then offers a rebuttal of the other's position. Cohn-Sherbok views the creation of a Jewish state as a necessity, basing it on a history of anti-Semitism, migration, and the Holocaust. He recounts visions of historical figures such as Theodor Herzl and David Ben-Gurion and the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which permitted the legal acquisition of land. Conversely, El-Alami questions the legality and morality of the land acquisition process and supports the Palestinian struggle. He documents over 2000 years of history, moving through the Ottoman Empire, and points out numerous "secret negotiations and broken promises." Both authors tend to blame the other side, or a third party, but offer some resolutions for settling the impasse. This book would serve as an essential primer in public or academic libraries. Ethan P. Pullman, Univ. of Pittsburgh Lib.

Finding an unbiased source is well-nigh impossible, but the book you found sounds interesting. Let me know how it is once you've read it, ok?

Both sides have done some very unwise things at various times. I'll certainly admit, though, that I have trouble taking seriously the claimed wish for justice from people who systematically teach a culture of hatred; that goes well beyond "unwise". Until that stops, there can be no hope for a long-term peace in that part of the world. The guilty parties are a small portion of the population, but they are poisoning their people and doing a huge amount of damage.

It doesn't help that neither side trusts the other side's leader. Arafat is viewed as a terrorist thug. And Sharon is viewed as a war criminal.

You have two peoples who just want to be able to go about their lives without fear of being blown up or shot at.

I don't see an end to the cycle, honestly. There are plenty of people on both sides who would be happy to pack up the other side's population, and dump them in the ocean somewhere so they can have all of the land.

I'll let you know how the book is.