A common feature of Middle East political commentary is the statement that their would be no terrorism, or far less terrorism, if the "Palestinean problem" would be resolved.  What this means, in the finite wisdom of much of the world's diplomatic establishment, is creating a Palestinean state alongside Israel in the misguided belief that such states could "peacefully coexist together."  Nearly six decades of history should put that utopian notion to rest but it's hard to wean a drug addict from their needle or nasal cocaine inhalations.

U.S. administrations of both political parties have let themselves fall for this dangerous nonsense.  So have the United Nations, European Union, and numerous other interested parties.  Let's review some history.  A two-state solution could have been possible at the time of Israel's creation in 1948 if the Palestinean inhabitants of Israel had taken the opportunity they were given.  Unfortunately, they didn't and they were dispersed throughout parts of the Middle East in the aftermath of Israel's successful 1948 independence war.  Rather than recognize this new reality, the Arab world nursed its grievances and like a squealing pig demanded the "right of return" for Palestinean refugees and continued attacking Israel and indoctrinating their emerging generations with pathological animosity toward Israel.

In June 1967, fearing a preemptive Arab strike to wipe out its nation, Israel launched and carried out the audaciously successful Six Day war, destroying multiple Arab armies and regaining control of the West Bank of the Jordan, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula.  {Read Michael Oren's superb Six Days of War for more info on this brilliant military campaign).

Unfortunately, the Arab world didn't learn that it couldn't destroy Israel and it continued cultivating Palestinean resentment and victimhood.  It also launched a skillful diplomatic campaign claiming that it would live in peace with Israel if Israel would retreat to its pre-1967 borders.  Naturally, such a step would be strategic suicide for the Israelis.  Israel has made numerous territorial concessions to the Palestineans and the Arab world in the subsequent four decades but peace and lasting security remain elusive.  The recent appointment of former British Prime MInister  Tony Blair as Middle East envoy, coupled with continuing troubles in Iraq, mean there will again be renewed emphasis on the mythical Middle East peace process.

There will only be a solution to the Palestinean problem when two things occur.  First and foremost, the Arab world must quit clinging to the fantasy it can destroy Israel and use the Palestineans as their vehicle for this.
This will require drastic changes in the world view and educational system of much of the Middle Eastern Islamic world including accepting the reality that it is God's will that Israel exist and prosper.  Secondly, the world and the international diplomatic community must dispense with the delusional notion that there is an ethnically unique "Palestinean" people entitled to their homeland.  The Palestineans are ethnic Arabs and should be assimilated into Arab countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and others which have stoked their ethnic grievances with blood money payments without demanding any kind or moral accountability from them.  Palestineans, if they chose to live in peaceful tolerance and cooperation, could also choose to become Israeli citizens and become prosperous and influential citizens of Israel if they chose to abandon their independence and Islamist fantasies.  If Palestineans choose to do this, they have a greater chance of economic prosperity, legal empowerment, and political access than they would in most Arab countries.  I believe their are Palestinean members of the Israeli Knesset which is Israel's parliament.

The present Palestinean political factions, Fatah and Hamas, are two sides of the same gangster coin.  Supporting either of them is antithetical to Israel's interests and to our long-term security interests in the region. Both of these parties have been against U.S. security interests as long as they've existed.   Fatah is exceptionally corrupt and Hamas, despite their social welfare promoting veneer, is nothing more than a Mediterranean version of the Taliban.  We should encourage Israel to reclaim Gaza and tell those who don't like this to abandon their Palestinean revanchist fantasies and require the Palestineans to assimilate into the broader regional community instead of clinging to separatist nationalist fantasies that have been aided and abetted by the international diplomatic community for far to long and at grievous human and economic costs.