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Does Palestinian Violence Derive from Despair or Hope?
[Jerusalem Post] Daniel Pipes - The hardship model, subscribed to by all Western states, attributes Palestinian actions to poverty, isolation, Israeli roadblocks, the lack of a state, etc. Eliminate those hardships and Palestinians, supposedly, would turn their attention to such constructive concerns as economic development and democracy. The exhilaration model says that for Palestinians, hope derives from a perception of Israeli weakness, implying an optimism and excitement that the Jewish state can be eliminated. Only when Palestinians cannot see a way forward against Israel do they devote themselves to the more mundane tasks of earning a living and educating their children. Exhilaration, not hardship, accounts for bellicose Palestinian behavior. Accordingly, whatever reduces Palestinian confidence is a good thing. A failed economy depresses the Palestinians' mood, not to speak of their military and other capabilities, and so brings resolution closer. Palestinians must experience the bitter crucible of defeat before they will drop their foul goal of eliminating their Israeli neighbor and begin to build their own economy, polity, society, and culture. Those who truly care for Palestinians must want their despair to come quickly, so that a skilled and dignified people can move beyond its current barbarism and build something decent.