Thomas Nephew writes about the results of a truly frightening Palestinian public opinion poll (in which an overwhelming majority are in favor of heinous acts of violence against Israelis, including chemical weapons), and about the Israeli settlements in the disputed territories. He identifies the settlements as being a major factor in the violence:

But in the long run, and in fact even in the middle and short run, Israel’s right to occupy Palestinian(/Jordanian) land and provoke, humiliate, and sometimes abuse its inhabitants is not paramount and is eminently deniable**. I should think even the most fiery “warbloggers” over here (in fact, especially the most fiery ones) might well find themselves ardent Palestinian nationalists if they were to walk a mile in Palestinian shoes, and would find themselves sorely tempted to split hairs, set aside scruples, and lie, cheat, steal and kill generally in the fight against their enemies.

I agree that the settlements are provocative, and that a withdrawal from the disputed territories (I don’t call them “occupied” because I agree with the Israeli position that the ownership of these areas is not clear-cut) would probably help to ease tensions somewhat.

An overwhelming problem, though, is that the Palestinian poll Thomas mentions is just a more severe reflection of the Arab world’s hatred for the very existence of Israel. Remove every settler from Gaza and the West Bank and bulldoze all their buildings, and we might see another temporary respite from violence. But Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran (to name just a few) will still be funding and supporting Palestinian terrorists—because for them it’s not about settlements, and it’s not about negotiations, and it’s not about peace. It’s about genocide. As long as oppressive Arab theocracies refuse to accept the existence of Israel and continue their destabilizing efforts, there will never be a lasting peace.