ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS

Old grievances need alleviation, not aggravation.

The circumstances in which Israel came to fruition as a state were far from ideal. The consequences for the Palestinians continue to be awful. 

The Jews' claim for land had legitimate merit. The sorrow of the Palestinians was equally justified. The Jews got their country, the Palestinians lost their land.

Israel became a laboratory for success and a nation-building experiment. It had a sterling political elite which had the foresight to support the Oslo Agreements. The Palestinians felt confident that a two-state arrangement was in the making. 

Now it looks as if yesterday's shimmer of hope lies buried under resentment. Israel, under the current leadership, appears to be impervious to moderation. The Palestinian authority is mere a corpse. Stuck in between the hell of Gaza and the Israeli fortress, the Palestinians in the meagre parcels under their pseudo control might become impossible to manage. The mix of frustration and self-hatred is lethal.

There was a time, 40 years ago, when they were talking. The MENA formula worked, even while Israel had no other diplomatic relations than with Egypt. The United States was a trusted intermediary and the EU and the Quartet helped to build both infrastructure for the Palestinians and trust for all.

We need an urgent change of actors. Netanyahu is too concerned with his political survival and Abbas has lost his legitimacy. In this void extremes thrive. The former American arbiter has lost the appetite for another shuttle or round, under the current circumstances, and the EU is too absorbed with the Ukrainian tragedy next door. The Arabs only care about the riches.

The current stalemate is bad of course. Hamas or Hezbollah in Lebanon might unleash yet again their nihilistic agendas and push Israel into a repeat of a Sharon sledgehammer intervention. 

The more liberal elites in Tel Aviv have to be saved from the indignities of free-lance terrorists who have no other agenda than hatred. The demented Jewish settlers have to bear the consequences of their encroachment. Only a change of leaders can bring some solace but neither side looks ready to clear a house that, on both sides, holds more rubbish than great expectations.