Rashid Khalidi's book, "The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017," offers an opportunity to examine and review the complex reality of the Palestinian cause in its various dimensions and aspects after a century of war against Palestinians, culminating in Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, stating: "We have taken Jerusalem off the negotiating table, and we don't have to talk about it anymore."
In his book, Rashid Khalidi focuses on six turning points in the conflict over Palestine. These six events begin with the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which determined Palestine's fate, and extend to Israel's siege of Gaza and its repeated wars against the people of Gaza in the first decade of the twenty-first century. These stages highlight the colonial nature of the hundred years' war on Palestine and the indispensable role of external powers in waging this war. The author narrates "the original hundred years' war story" partly through the experiences of Palestinians who lived through that war, many of whom belong to his family and were present during some of the mentioned stages. He also includes his own memories of events he witnessed personally, as well as documents he and some families possessed, and testimonies from various eyewitnesses. His goal in this narration is to clarify his vision, in which he states that this conflict should be viewed completely differently from most prevailing narratives (...) in which the story of Palestine has been told in most of what has been written about it.
The author introduces his book with a definition stating: "This book is not a 'lachrymose conception' of one hundred years of Palestinian history, quoting the great historian Salo Baron's brilliant critique of the spirit of nineteenth-century Jewish historical writings. Palestinians have been accused by those sympathetic to their oppressors of being immersed in victimhood. In reality, Palestinians have faced difficult and sometimes impossible circumstances, similar to all indigenous populations who have faced colonial wars. They have also suffered repeated defeats, were often fragmented, and lacked good leadership. This does not mean that Palestinians have not sometimes succeeded in overcoming these difficulties, or that at other times they could not have made better decisions. However, we cannot ignore the international and imperial powers that allied against them, the extent of which is often neglected and underestimated, and despite which they have shown remarkable resilience and steadfastness. My hope is that this book will clarify this steadfastness and resilience and help restore some of what has been marginalized and ignored in history by those who control all of historic Palestine and the narrative surrounding it."