To the editor:
The artificially balanced column by Roger Cohen, "Israel-Palestine from both sides of the mirror," inadvertently illustrated a key reason why there continues to be no realistic hopeful a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the foreseeable future.
Cohen included the perspectives of two Israelis and two Palestinian Arabs. As usual, the Israelis bent over backwards to understand the Arab perspective. In contrast, with the exception of Salam Fayyad getting in a jab at his political rival Mahmoud Abbas by pointing out the need for the Palestinian Arabs to develop some aspects of a civilian society - something Abbas fired Fayyad for trying - the two Arabs placed all the blame and responsibility on Israel for a conflict the Arabs started and have repeatedly refused to end.
Until the Palestinian Arabs begin to accept some responsibility, nothing fundamental can change.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein