In class today, when the historical facts as well as the demands of the Israelis and the Palestinians were made known to us, I can see how this could be a rather difficult issue to solve. This is not only because the fighting has been going on for thousands of years. It is also because both sides believe that they are in the right, and it is hard to decide who really is in the right.
One of the biggest pluses to the proposed plan of the Israelis is that they are willing to give up land if it will end the violence. However, I would not characterize Israelis as a bunch of pacifists because they have clearly done many horrible things to the Arabs. There is also of course the question of which land to give up, and what constitutes as a "fair" splitting of the area. For example, I am sure that Israel would not want to give up any large part of Golan Heights, the militarily superior area.
The main argument that I am picking up from the Palestinians is that they were a country first. Israel pretty much took them over, so there is no way to really say which part of the area Israel deserves to get. Palestinians believe that they do not deserve any land at all, and they want to kick Israel out. The Palestinians more belligerent popular opinion may seem off-putting to foreign countries, but who is to say that they are wrong in there beliefs? Israel seems to have just sprung up out of nowhere in the last century, effectively wiping Palestine from the face of the Earth (in a geographical sense).
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