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Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Palestinian cheers over the “Afghan mujahedeen victory over the American Crusaders” create the impression that in their view, the Taliban are a worthy model to follow to eliminate the “Zionist occupation.” However, a crumbling Lebanon, a Gaza Strip plagued by poverty and unemployment, and Afghanistan itself, now under Taliban rule, do not indicate the success of the Islamic model. What the Palestinians need is not a new model of “armed struggle” but a reconciliation with the existence of Israel while striving for a sustainable peace settlement that will ensure security, prosperity, and respect for mutual rights.
For the past century, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs have lived through an unceasing conflict, with the disputed issues remaining largely the same throughout. The realities on the ground mean no plan will ever be perfect, but President Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan is the most realistic and achievable yet proposed.
The Trump “Deal of the Century” has elicited responses ranging from enthusiastic support to bitter rejection. Among those rejecting the plan are US Democratic candidates for president. Their instant and total rejection reflects an instinctive antipathy toward Trump but also an addiction to expert-driven processes that have failed for decades. The blanket rejection reflects non-zero sum conceptions in which there can be no winners or losers in the conflict, and reveals an instrumental view of Palestinians as stalking horses for other causes. But reality is creeping in and starting to change attitudes.
The Trump administration’s approach to the issue of peace in the Middle East differs from that of previous US administrations in that it is based on facts on the ground as they have evolved over time. The US peace team appears to have jettisoned both the historical “blame game” and the contradictory narratives of the Palestinians and the Israelis, which have combined to frustrate all prior peace initiatives.
It is usually wiser to work for a solution to a conflict than try to achieve victory. But in some conflicts, the objectives of the two parties are so mutually exclusive that the conflict can only end when one defeats the other. Israel’s goal is survival; the Palestinian goal is the elimination of Israel. Peace requires that the Palestinians give up that goal, which they have had for nearly a century. They won’t do so until they understand that they have no chance of succeeding.

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