Well, original sin really has no practical place in the world of "realpolitik"...
The reality is that the Israelis are a nation, and the Palestinians want to be. One first will do anything to preserve what they have, and the other will attempt to take what they can.
The practical purpose for most of these inquiries is to answer the question, what are the Palestinians really fighting for?
It's not easy to tell this answer, since the Palestinian answer changes with each audience. To the West, a state in the territories. To the refugees, the right of return is more important even than statehood. To the other Arabs (esp. the Islamists, a powerful minority among the Palestinians), Phase I in the "liberation" of "Occupied Palestine" is the goal. (Remember the Treaty of Hudaibiyah, wink wink) Okay, which is it really? Maybe most of the Palestinians would settle for a state, but the PA is not a democracy and they don't call the shots.
You can also ask this question of the Israelis, but since the Israelis live in an open society and a democracy and one that places some value on truth-telling, it's easier to get a sense of the internal conflicts on that side. Most Israelis want peace and will trade land for it (if they think they have a partner, which they don't currently); there is a big argument about where exactly to draw the border; a politically well-organized but small minority still dreams of Greater Israel. Since Israel is a democracy, the wishes of most Israelis do call the shots. |
