Howard Sherrington’s Palestinia offers a 10-year plan to solve the conflict between Israel and Palestinians, sharing his research into the range of pressures on the conflict’s parties.

Sherrington first laid out his plan in a 2019 edition of this book, updated most recently in 2024. He advocates abandoning the “impractical” two-state solution, carving “Palestinia” out of Jordan, and powering development with a new canal between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea on Jordan’s western border. The international community, he posits, would support the movement of cooperative, hard-working Palestinians there to grow the economy in a 50-year lease arrangement, like the one England had with China for Hong Kong.

Sherrington is a British attorney whose inspiration to write about this topic came from God, he notes, rather than first-hand knowledge or formal study. He makes a game effort to give general readers enough background for his proposal to make sense, although it seems unrealistic, at best, as Sherrington proposes that some to-be-determined entity lease the land from Jordan; that Palestinia be fenced off and administered by to-be-determined parties; that Palestinians willingly relocate under to-be-determined conditions; that the international community fund the canal. None of these parties has indicated any willingness or ability to take these steps.

The narrative is also weakened by the author’s undisguised bias and the fact that his analysis is now dated by the horrific events since October 7, 2023, which receive scant mention. The author relates history almost exclusively from Israel’s perspective. He blames Palestinians’ failure to develop the occupied territories on a flow of international aid, without mentioning Palestinian grievances or how Israel controls the territories’ borders, movement of people and goods. Careless editing and the many unfamiliar acronyms also prove distracting.

If dubious, Sherrington’s confident, bold proposal is nonetheless thought-provoking. It could appeal to those interested in the topic seeking ways to think outside the box on a seemingly intractable conflict.

Also available in hardcover and ebook.