For many years I believed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was fixable, that a final resolution could — and ultimately would — be found in the creation of two independent, sovereign states. I thought it was, all in all, the fairest but also the most pragmatic solution, and that both sides would make it happen, sooner rather than later, despite the obvious obstacles.
I no longer believe that. I no longer have faith in good intentions or even the power of pragmatism. The blows to my faith have been inflicted over the years by both sides, but most recently by Israel, which has become an unrecognizable country as it has moved steadily rightward.
The new government in Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu, already the country's longest-serving prime minister, is provocative, belligerent and beyond the pale.
