The PLO's declaration of a Palestinian state in November 1988 echoed Israel's 1948 Proclamation of Independence in subject matter, organization, and even specific phrasing. Like Zionists, Palestinians rely heavily on foreign subventions. Zionists looked initially to fellow Jews for support, then to Western states. Palestinians also began by depending on co-religionists, then expanded to foreign governments. Zionist terminology does double work for the Palestinians.
Palestinian imitation has two major consequences.
First, it assures maximum conflict. Compromise would be much easier if, say, the Israeli town of Ramle were the object of Palestinian ambitions. Second, imitation turns every disagreement into a battle of wills. A combination of Palestinian vigor and Israeli fatigue makes the answers anything but predictable. Strange as it sounds, Palestinian Zionism may be more vigorous than its Israeli prototype.