What If Jimmy Carter Said This?

But unlike other sanction regimes, Israel is setting conditions but not promising anything in return. Thus, even if Haniyeh starts wearing a skullcap and Khaled Meshal begins humming Hatikva, and even if Abbas makes it mandatory to teach the heroic story of Masada in Palestinian schools, Israel does not want and is unable to propose a diplomatic alternative that would lead to the establishment of an independent and democratic Palestinian state. It does not want to - because any such proposal would mean a withdrawal from most of the territories and the dismantling of most of the settlements. It is unable to - because there is no government of Israel. After all, even when it appeared that there was a government in Israel, not a single measly illegal outpost was removed; this is a non-government that has transformed the disengagement from Gaza from a national trauma to a housing trauma; and in Hebron, or in Mount Hebron to be more precise, the sovereign provides free protection to a bunch of hooligans.

Nope, this wasn't Jimmy Carter. It was Zvi Bar'el in Haaretz. Alan Dershowitz--is Zvi an antisemite?

A peaceful and democratic Palestinian state may be an ignis fatuus. Even now, they're busy killing one another rather than Israelis for a change. But at least Israelis seem to discuss things candidly.