PRISONERS: A MUSLIM AND A JEW ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST DIVIDE by Jeffrey Goldberg Picador, £16.99 Jeffrey Goldberg moved from the USA to Israel while still a college student. In 1990, the Israeli army sent him to serve as a prison guard at Ketziot, the lar

PRISONERS: A MUSLIM AND A JEW ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST DIVIDE

by Jeffrey Goldberg

Picador, £16.99

Jeffrey Goldberg moved from the USA to Israel while still a college student. In 1990, the Israeli army sent him to serve as a prison guard at Ketziot, the largest jail in the Middle East. While there, he realised that among the prisoners were the future leaders of Palestine and that he had an ideal opportunity to learn about them straight from the horses' mouths, as it were. And so began an extended dialogue with a prisoner called Rafiq. This is the story of that relationship, what happened next and how, despite their obvious differences, a friendship was formed.

THE LAST RESISTANCE

by Jacqueline Rose

Verso, £16.99

Jacqueline Rose is one of the founding signatories of Independent Jewish Voices - a network of individuals calling for open and critical debate about Israeli government policies. It should come as no surprise, then, that her book published on the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War which will mark 40 years of Israeli occupation of the West Band and Gaza, pulls no punches. She explores the power of writing to create and transform our political lives, in particuarly looking at the role of literature in the Zionist imagination.

MARRIED TO ANOTHER MAN: ISRAEL'S DILEMMA IN PALESTINE

by Ghada Karmi

Pluto Press, £14.99

Two rabbis visited Palestine in 1897 to examine its suitability as a Jewish state and observed that the land was like a bride "beautiful but married to another man". This dilemma - the displacement of the Palestinian people - is the subject of this book, also published to mark the 40th year of occupation. These days the conflict is more than just of interest and danger for those directly concerned - it has implications for the whole world. The peace process as we know it is dead and there is no solution in sight. But Karmi, one of our most renowned commentators on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has some startling ideas and conclusions in this fascinating book.

MAN IN THE SHADOWS

by Efraim Halevy

Phoenix, £8.99

Efraim Halevy was Director of Israel's Mossad, one of the most ruthless security forces in the world. Here he looks at the Middle East crisis from the inside, and makes his own suggestions as to how peace might be achieved. Don't expect many surprises though. I suspect every page has been thoroughly vetted before publication.