In the first major work to analyze the role of North African countries in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Michael Laskier offers now insights about the common interests and encounters of Israel and the French Maghreb, from the late 1940s on. He exposes the relatively unknown yet significant efforts by Israel to reduce its isolation in the Arab world by forging intelligence, economic, and political ties with Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. Part of Israel's ""periphery doctrine,"" these manouvers often involved Israel in internal Maghrebi politics and were an attempt to align - secretly, if necessary - with the Arab states with which they were not in direct confrontation. At the same time, however, young men throughout the Maghreb fought alongside countries in the Middle East against Israel, motivated by a desire to support Palestine and to press Israel, as well as the Arab world, to end Palestinian suffering. Exploring the complex web of inter-Arab politics, Laskier examines the pioneering role played by Tunisian and Moroccan leaders in promoting peace. He describes the emergence of Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba as the first Arab leader to publicly challenge Arab stubbornness.