@mike_kraft i agree that a multiconfessional secular state is by far best way forward. unfortunately, neither of the two communities that lives there seems to agree. i think in practice, for the forseeable future the name of the game must be external constraint. israel has forfeited in my view any right to autonomy or independence, and the palestinians don't have any pretense of it. the US + arab autocracies must be all up in Israel/Palestine affairs, even though no one wants the heartache.