Senior statesmen and civil society leaders across the Middle East have acclaimed a new publication on how peace in the region is within the grasp of the current leaders. The essay How Peace Broke Out in the Middle East sets out the steps to peace based on the current positions of regional leaders. Former Israeli foreign minister Professor Shlomo Ben-Ami responded by saying: "The conditions are ripe - what is lacking is the political will and leadership." While former Palestinian negotiator Dr Ahmad Samih Khalidi called it "a tantalizing vision".

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Pessimism dominates discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet the idea that the time is not ripe for peace implies that some more auspicious moment will arise – at some future unspecified date. In reality, continuing on the well-trodden path of irredeemable despair simply postpones peace indefinitely and promises interminable ferment. The contours of the only equitable settlement are well known. Whether the main actors seize the chance is primarily a question of political will.

The curious history of the Middle East is of both war and peace breaking out when least expected. When Sadat visited Jerusalem in 1977, another round of Egyptian-Israeli hostilities was widely anticipated. Few supposed that the sworn enemies Israel and the PLO could agree the Oslo Accord in 1993.

The deadlock can be broken again today. In a new Fabian paper, 'How peace broke out in the Middle East: a short history of the future', Tony Klug traces how an imagined but plausible series of unilateral gestures builds a potent momentum for peace.

"A brilliant idea and a dream that is not beyond reach. The conditions are ripe - what is lacking is the political will and leadership."

—Professor Shlomo Ben-Ami, Former Israeli Foreign Minister

"Tony Klug offers us a tantalizing vision of what could be. It may not happen but, if it does, this is how it will unfold"

—Dr Ahmad Samih Khalidi, Former Palestinian negotiator and Senior Associate Member, St Antonys College, Oxford

"We all know that a Middle East settlement; a peaceful Palestine living alongside a peaceful Israel,would not just change the lives of the people of the region, but transform the politics of our age. Tony Klug's essay sets out a vision of a better future. It challenges us and it inspires hope. It is of course for the people and leaders of the Middle East to do this for themselves and making peace is always difficult, but with courage and leadership it can be done."

—Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International Development