Ramachandra Guha: Two writers whose thoughts on Palestine are worth recalling four decades later

Whatever one’s nationality – or religion – every sensible person should be relieved that a ceasefire of sorts has finally come to Gaza, that the remaining Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas, that food, medicines and other forms of relief can finally reach the beleaguered and brutalised Palestinians. But at the same time, every sensible person knows that this is merely a very modest first step, and that the road to peace and justice remains arduous and tortuous, with many hurdles to overcome.

As it happens, in the weeks leading to the announcement by US President Donald Trump of a pause in the hostilities, I have been reading two books, each of which contains some striking passages that bear on what could, or perhaps more accurately should, be an enduring resolution of the confli