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On a recent holiday, we befriended a couple who were children of Palestinian refugees. It was refreshing, in a way, to hear "their side of the story". The one thing that I got out of it was that Palestinians truly want a one-state solution. A common government where all people have a right to vote equally, Jew and Muslim alike.
Obviously, this would be troublesome for the Jews because it's a numbers game. They would never want "enough" Muslims present to take over the government. So, the two state solution is...better?...for the Jews.
The other major sticking point is the right of return. This doesn't just mean turning settlements back over to the former Palestinian inhabitants. This means that anyone with a deed from, say, 1920 for a parcel of land which is now inhabited by a Jew gets their land back. All refugees return to the land and are given citizenship, their land back, and a vote. Again, it's a numbers game and the Jews will lose that numbers game. Hence, they will never agree to the right of return.
Finally, there's the non-contiguous "nation" of Palestine. As long as the Palestinians have to travel through Israel to get to the other side of their country, there will always be strife in terms of commerse, security, and such.
I don't know how they will ever overcome these hurdles.
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Gives a man a halo, does mead.
"Here lies The_Jazz: Killed by an ambitious, sparkly, pink butterfly."
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