THE COLLAPSE of Secretary of State John Kerry’s effort to resolve the Israeli- Palestinian conflict has provoked much handwringing. A recurring theme is this: Given that the deal’s basic terms are known to all, why can’t the parties involved just sign and have done with it? After all, the endgame is clear: Two states living side-by-side, Israel withdrawing more or less to its pre-1967 borders, Palestinians accepting compensation in lieu of an actual “right of return,” and some sort of creative arrangement for sharing Jerusalem. Let’s stop the bickering and get on with it.
The problem with this analysis is that it implicitly treats peace as an agreement between equals. That definition might pertain to relations between Norway and Sweden. But it does that not describe relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
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