In his Contested Holy Places in Israel-Palestine, Reiter adds to the growing understanding that conflicts in or over holy places differ from other territorial conflicts. He contends that a holy site has a profound meaning, involving human beliefs, strong emotions, sacred values and core identity self-perceptions. Therefore, a dispute over such land differs from a regular dispute over land. In order to resolve conflicts over holy sites, one must be equipped with an understanding of the cultural, religious, social and political meaning of the holy place to each of the contesting groups. He discusses the many facets of disputes and the triggers for the outbreak of violence in and around holy sites and analyses fourteen case studies of conflicts over holy sites in Palestine/Israel, including major holy sites such as Al-Haram al-Sharif/ the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the Cave of the Patriarchs/Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, in addition to disputes over more minor sites. He then compares these conflicts to similar cases from other regions and provides an analysis of effective and ineffective conflict mitigation and resolution tools used for dealing with such disputes. Furthermore, the study sheds light on the role of sacred sites in exacerbating local and regional ethnic conflicts. By providing a thorough and systematic analysis of the social, economic, and political conditions that fuel conflicts over holy sites and the conditions that create tolerance or conflict, Reiter concludes by laying down a typology of 15 methods of conflict mitigation, management and resolution, analyzing their efficiency in resolving conflict at shared holy sites.