This talk addresses the dynamics that led to the eruption of the Gaza War, tracing them back to developments in the international and regional systems, the domestic environment of the main actors involved in the conflict, and the nature of the leaders making the most critical decisions leading up to the war. This approach seeks to understand Arab-Israeli developments by exploring dynamics at the three levels of analysis mentioned above, and guides the work of the three panelists in their recently published book, Arabs and Israelis: Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East. The panelists will use the book’s conclusions to shed light on this most recent eruption of Palestinian-Israeli violence and on ways that might help put an end to the conflict.