FOREWORD<br > The background of this volume of essays by Palestinian Arab special-<br > ists， edited by Emile A. Nakhleh， is a complex one. In the fall of 1977，<br > the American Enterprise Institute initiated an examination of the<br > practical problems associated with peace settlement scenarios for the<br > West Bank and Gaza. This examination began before the Camp David<br > accords， but it came to have considerable relevance to them， as well as<br > to other efforts to bring a just and lasting resolution to the Arab-<br > Israeli struggle. Part of this resolution will involve the Palestinian<br > Arabs， whose distinguished representatives include authors of this<br > volume.<br > Appearing first in AEI s West Bank and Gaza series was Emile<br > Nakhleh s The West Bank and Gaze: Toward the Making of a Pales-<br > finian State and Daniel J. Elazar s The Camp David Framework for<br > Peace: A Shift Toward Shared Rule， two very different perspectives<br > published by AE1 in 1979. As we proceed with our examination of<br > a peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians， we continue to<br > adhere to AEI s motto， "Competition of ideas is fundamental to a<br > flee society." In 1980， for example， AEI will publish parallel studies<br > of Palestinian Arab and Israeli perceptions of practical problems<br > associated with the future of the West Bank and Gaza.<br > By focusing on the practical aspects of a peace settlement for<br >~， the West Bank and Gaza we hope to increase public understanding of<br > i re~1 issues. Such comprehension may not make the settlement process<br > any easier， as this volume indicates~ but it will make the agenda for<br > this process more specific and potentially more manageable. There are<br > Over a million persons， mostly Arabs but also some Israelis， in the<br > ，~- W~t Bank and Gaza regions who pursue their daily lives under<br > ~bat ad cerse conditions of military rule. Public discussion in<br >