Rami Khouri

Editor-at-Large, Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon

In 100 years of conflict between Arabism and Zionism, there have been peace treaties but there has never been people-to-people reconciliation. Political agreements might quiet things down in the short term, but until you have people-to-people peace, even 60 years from now Israel could find itself with conflict with its neighbors. The core, underlying issue that must be addressed now is the rights of the Palestinians, alongside the Arab offer to coexist in peace with Israel.

I'm a bit pessimistic, but here's my best-case scenario: I think you'll see a peace agreement within next 20 years or so, based on two-state solution. More important, however, is what comes after: Economic development and political democratization in the Arab world, coupled with an end to Israeli colonization of Arab lands, could help create a situation where, despite the sovereign political boundaries that separate them, the Jews of Israel and Christians and Muslims of the Arab world will be much more intermingled in an integrated economy in which resources are shared to create opportunity and a better life for everyone. This would look more like Europe, where sovereignty is defined by borders, but real life intermingles people across those boundaries. But we can't get there until we resolve the Palestinian refugee issue, and accept the creation of two sovereign states with identical and equal rights as a first step.