But Israel may well balk at lowering its guard against a people who have assaulted the Jewish state since its founding, charged that it was built on stolen land, and only recently said formally they would accept its very existence. Peres's prediction has resonated in my mind as I've thought about my travels through the area. I've followed the Israeli-Palestinian struggle for three decades from a distance, but I was still taken aback by the stark contrast in living standards illustrated by my visits to a Jewish settlement and a nearby Palestinian refugee camp on the West Bank. The Jewish residential compound of Bet El, a short drive north of Jerusalem, is home to about 8,000 people. The neat houses have pretty red-tiled roofs and parking spaces filled with shiny European compact cars.
Kids play on an outdoor basketball court.
Children play in a pile of sand on the edge of a street. A trickle of sewage runs nearby. The original occupants of this camp came mostly from the city of Lod and its environs, where Israel's main international airport is located, southeast of Tel Aviv. In principle, they still want the right to return there. In practice, no Israeli government will allow that to happen.