(American Enterprise Institute) Danielle Pletka - A smarter U.S. approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would look at the topography of the Palestinian people rather than falling back on the two-state solution as the answer to everything. According to Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki, almost half of Palestinians believe "armed struggle" is the solution to their problems. Fully 58% oppose a two-state solution; 70% oppose "unconditional return to negotiations with Israel"; almost as many oppose dialogue with the U.S. Most troubling of all, "73% believe the Quran contains a prophecy about the demise of the State of Israel and 32% think the year for this demise is 2022." Polling by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy found increased commitment to the return of all "historically Palestinian" lands, and diminished support for a two-state solution. While support for a new mass uprising was also low (for a variety of reasons, including lack of confidence in Palestinian leadership), there remained an overall commitment to violent means. There is violence because there is incitement to violence. There is unending political encouragement and glorification of killing. The better choice is to re-engage on the basis of reality, and seek to loosen the grip of crooks, killers and extremists, look to discredit their failed rule, search and support a new and better generation of leaders and help the Palestinian people find a better path. The writer is a senior fellow at AEI.
2022-05-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive