This study delineates the main causes for the explosive situation in the Middle East, uncovering the key factors for the emergence and development of the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The author argues that the conflict was the inevitable consequence of the Zionist colonial project, which resulted in the expulsion of the inhabitants of Palestine from their ancestral lands. The study also exposes some of the basic misconceptions about the Palestinian cause held by western observers, concerning both the causes and effects of the conflict.