My dad has taken an interest in this topic lately, but aside from some debates he seems to be watching with guys like Norman Finkelstein, he's mostly been reading popular level treatments and highly controversial/sloppy works like Joan Peters' "From Time Immemorial". I'm thinking of getting him a couple of books for Christmas. Maybe one that's more pro-Israel in its leanings and one that's more pro-Palestine for perspective? Length isn't much of an issue, he likes to read. I just need something that wouldn't be opaque to a well-read layperson, but also fairly represents expert disagreements in their strongest forms. If I had to pick just two, what would be some of the safer choices?
The book list has some suggestions (maybe Righteous Victims paired with The Iron Cage? Or Charles Smith's book paired with one of the Morris books?), but I wanted to get a broader range of opinions, and find out which might be better suited to a person who's just getting into researching this topic.
I'd say the Charles Smith and Morris recommendations paired would be a good place to go. Both are relatively responsible and decent reads.
Another responsible and accessible read is Mark Tessler's "A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict". You could also replace Morris with Martin Gilbert's "Israel: A History". It's worth noting that most books don't really lay out expert disagreement. Smith and Morris are historians in their own right, and while they note some areas of disagreement, they're mostly interested in telling the story as they've understood it via their historical research. If you're trying to get the history, pairing Smith and Morris will cover a lot of the same ground, but your dad will need to have a perceptive eye to pick up on the nuances in the history that one covers and the other doesn't, or what they disagree on.
I don't know your budget, and I'm not qualified to recommend on that front! But I can say that if you can afford getting him more than two books, it may be worth getting him something like Tessler's book and then two books more focused on political points of view. Two that could provide him with perspectives are The Iron Cage (less focused on history and more with giving the Arab perspective on it) and Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn by Daniel Gordis (less political but still quite clear on being pro-Israel).
Let me know if you're still looking for more opinions as well on these.
Amazon suggests you can get Gordis's book for $14 (shipping included in these prices I'm mentioning) new, Khalidi's for about $20, Tessler's for $30, Morris's for $20, Gilbert's for $17, and/or Smith for very little (if you get an older edition, which is totally fine).
Good luck!
P.S. Just a random comment, but I find it interesting that he'd be listening to Norman Finkelstein but reading Joan Peters. Both of them are very sloppy, and diametrically opposed on politics.