Bush’s policy statement on the Middle East had some articulate flourishes: Notably, he separated the current Palestinian leadership from the aspirations of the Palestinian people, and thus seemed to be trying to boost support for a new civil society that Edward Said has been documenting of late as a breeding ground for a future generation of Palestinian politicians. To this end, Bush called on new elections in Palestine, and dangled the carrot of a provisional Palestinian state if certain hurdles were met, such as the establishment of a constitutional framework, and a fair, working judiciary.

He also balanced the usual statements of understanding about the terrorism that Israelis are being subjected to right now with an appreciation of the “anger and despair of the Palestinian people,” and that it is “untenable for Palestinians to live in squalor and occupation”. He also said that “permanent occupation threatens Israel’s identity and democracy.” These opinions are not exactly what Sharon or Netanyahu would volunteer, and in doing so Bush makes an effort to separate his position from that of Israel.

But if he really wanted to address the huge chasm between Israeli and Palestinian perceptions of what would amount to a fair resolution of this mess, Bush should also have criticized Israel’s policy over the past decade of simultaneously building settlements on occupied territories while pursuing a negotiated peace. This settlement policy has negated any chance of success of a peace process, and it continues. This is perhaps the biggest perceived violation Palestinians feel towards their land, and one that will need to be addressed before a permanent peace is possible.

I think the hurdles placed before the Palestinians will prove too high, when all that is offered at the end is a provisional Palestinian state, with final status talks about Jerusalem still not resolved. That amounts to too big a stick and too small a carrot. And as long as Palestinians feel an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital is dependent on the whim of an Israeli government that is in no mood to dole out favors, the dead end of terrorism will remain a seductive lure for those morons who crave “martyrdom”.

On a different note, is the phrase “plight of the Palestinians” used so often because it alliterates so well?