Negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian breakthrough.

During more than four decades of occupation, Israeli-Palestinian relations have been replete with intense violence, mutual recrimination and revenge, bringing the two sides on more than one occasion close to the brink of all-out war. Oddly enough, these years have also been characterized by the transformation of the conflict whereby both sides have edged ever so slowly toward accommodation. But 40 years of occupation and its accompanying violence have created psychological and emotional hang-ups that continue to haunt both sides and hamper major progress on key security and territorial issues that each deems critical to finalizing an agreement. Moreover, while there is clear evidence that the vision of a two-state solution is gaining greater currency, entrenched extremist groups such as Hamas and radical settlers still continue to seek all of Palestine or greater Israel, respectively.

The recent war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has made the issue of dealing seriously with violence and retribution more pressing than ever. Operation Cast Lead, provoked by Hamas's endless rocket fire on Israel, resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 Palestinians, a majority of whom were civilians. If the new U.S. leadership--under the guidance of Middle East envoy George Mitchell--does not deal hastily and directly with the issue of violence, the next war could just as well generate another dismal outcome. If the war on Hamas has produced anything, it is a window of opportunity for Israel, its Arab neighbors and its international allies to confront directly the sources of violence and bring an end to the occupation while Israel still has neighbors willing to cooperate.

Nothing can justify a humiliating occupation in the minds of the Palestinians, and all moral arguments against occupation are readily dismissed in the face of existential threats in the minds of the Israelis. Even a cursory review of the occupation from the Israeli vantage point indicates that for many Israelis, and especially the religiously committed settlers, the occupation of the West Bank is a biblical fulfillment that no government has the right to alter and no resistance, however violent, can change. The settlements and their expansion during the 1970s and 1980s became central to government policy in the territories, and the settler movement developed a strong political constituency represented in all Israeli coalition governments. Successive Israeli governments have provided financial means and protection to the settlers with near total disregard for the profound impact on Israeli-Palestinian relations. As a result, any Israeli peace overture under these circumstances has been viewed by the Arab states as an empty slogan and a cynical attempt to sway public opinion. Contrary to the facts on the ground, as the occupation becomes less and less tenable, Israeli governments continue to justify it as indispensable to national security in an effort to justify further entrenchment.

Most Palestinians see the land on which they have lived for centuries as theirs, and no ruler or government can compromise this inherent right. From their perspective, regardless of what precipitated the Israeli occupation, Palestine is an Arab patrimony; thus, their right to the land is not only historical, but real and inalienable. Although the occupation may have needlessly been perpetuated by the Arab states and Palestinian leaders, who rejected Israel's initial offer to exchange all the territories for peace immediately after the 1967 war, the occupation nonetheless has become central to Arab discourse. Everything from national dignity to daily struggle and physical survival are linked to the recovery of the land. More than seven out of 10 Palestinians have been born under occupation, creating two generations of Palestinians bent on ending it at whatever cost. Violent resistance to the occupation is only natural. As former Israeli president Moshe Katzav once said, regardless of who is right or wrong, the occupied have every right to resist. As a consequence, resistance to the occupation has created a vicious cycle of retaliation causing even more pain and suffering to the Palestinian community. The deplorable condition of the Palestinians languishing in refugee camps provided the environment for the birth of radical Islamist groups, including the creation in 1977 of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). Over time, Hamas has begun to mobilize its followers to rally violently against the occupation, linking national redemption to the liberation of the land.

While violent resistance to the occupation has further deepened the settlers' resolve to fight back, both Israeli and Palestinian radicals see salvation in denying the existence of the other. Absorbed by illusions and false prophesies, these radicals still believe they can defy what history, political reality and changing circumstances have finally formulated. Trust hardly exists, and horrifying scenarios are constantly ...