Now to the issue at hand. There are a few myths about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that still need to be cleared up. Some of the myths are centered on the creation of Israel. There are those who are convinced that "Jews took the land from the Palestinians, and moved in on land which wasn't theirs." Nope, it's indisputable that Jews have always lived in Israel, dating back about 4,000 years.

In the early 1800's a large number of Jewish settlers began moving into the area, buying land from the government, as well as privately from the Arabs who owned it. In 1948, according to John Rourke's book, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Politics, the population of the area was: 650,000 Jews, and 1,350,000 Arabs. When the ratio of population is about one to two, nobody's "moving in" and "taking over"; it's clear that both peoples have lived there for a long time and have legitimate claims to the land.

Also key in the conflict is the issue of so-called "occupied territories," i.e. the contention that Israel is occupying land outside of what its borders should be. The pre-1967 war borders are armistice lines from 1948, when Arab nations wouldn't accept Palestinian statehood provided by U.N. resolutions (and accepted by Israel) and tried to destroy Israel. Israel took the West Bank, and the rest of these territories after being attacked in 1967. Standard international practice is for Israel to hold the land until negotiation. But the Arab countries refused to negotiate and have tried to take the land by force on numerous occasions.

In any case, Israeli settlements only occupy 1.5 percent of the West Bank, and places like the Golan Heights are essential to the security of Israel and maintaining stability in the region. Giving that away would be a death sentence to Israel. The irony is that the Israelis tried to give away most of the land the Palestinians wanted in exchange for peace, and were rejected.

Over the years, the Palestinians have made, and continue to make, bad choices about their future. The Palestinians are still paying the price for the decisions they made a long time ago. At the founding of Israel, full citizenship in the new democratic state was offered to Arabs.

Today, 25 percent of Israel's population is Arabs who accepted with all but one "right." Arabs aren't allowed to serve in the military. Personally, I'd consider that a sweet deal bearing in mind that if we lived in Israel (and weren't Arab), we would be starting college after two years in the army. This was the most generous thing the new state could have done for their former enemy. How many countries, at the founding of their state, offer citizenship (albeit a limited one at first) to the very people they had to fight in order to create that state? The Palestinians are Arabs who said no, confident in the promised destruction of Israel by its Arab neighbors.

The Palestinian people are still making bad choices today, which will certainly affect them tomorrow. As I wrote before, Arafat as a leader is one bad choice. But it doesn't stop there. According to the opinion poll by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, 43 percent of Palestinians hold the view that the "goal of the intifada is to 'liberate' all of Mandatory Palestine (i.e. Israel)." After nearly 50 years, such a large percentage of the population still thinks such a goal is feasible. Beliefs such as this are borderline fanatical and are at the root of the problems in the Middle East.

These people have held onto the idea of a "liberated" Palestine for 50 years, and look at the result. According to the Jerusalem Post (Aug. 30, page 2A), at least half of the Palestinian population is without work. The intifada has forced the closing of the Israeli-Palestinian border, so workers can't get to their jobs. The Palestinian people are still poor, living in "refugee" camps and relying on outside aid for over 50 years of their existence. For peace to happen in the Middle East, both sides have to want it. The problem is that only the Israelis want peace, while the Palestinians consistently have chosen violence.

Perhaps if elections actually happen in January (they've already been delayed by Arafat a few times), the Palestinian people will make a good choice by electing a new leadership that truly wants peace. But forgive me if I am still pessimistic about the outcome, when the people voting still hold the same beliefs that have kept them down for so long.