Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The way out of the Israeli-Palestinian impasse may be two sets of unilateral steps: a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from most of the Palestinian territories still under its control, coupled with both consolidation to most of the larger and contiguous Israeli settlements and abandonment of the smaller and isolated ones–and, on the Palestinian side, a unilateral declaration of independence.
In light of the failed Oslo Peace Accords and other events that have transpired since, Edward Said's support for an Israeli unilateral withdrawal from Palestinian territories, rather than reaching a Israeli-Palestinian rapprochement, was not only pragmatic, but it was right.
Mending the sad state of relations between Israel, Palestinians, and Arab countries is not merely an issue of peace-making, but rather of reconciliation. And this simply cannot be achieved without addressing the deep-rooted feelings of hatred which have become socially ingrained over the years.