3154 Words To Argue That The Israeli Occupation Is Not The Root Of All Problems In The Middle East

Many paragraphs later, James Kirchick concludes:

The authoritarian regimes that rule over so many of the world’s Muslims need something to distract attention away from their corruption, lavish lifestyles, and utter inability at providing a hopeful future for their citizens. Directing the collective awareness of not just Arab and Muslim populations but also the elite class of Western policymakers to the Palestinian question has proven to be an amazingly useful propaganda tool.

But I don’t get his argument. Is he saying that peace in the Middle East is not what it’s made up to be? But why doesn’t he humor us? Arabs are hotheads, but they’re not stupid. Once the Palestinians and Israelis (and Syrians and Egyptians and Jordanians and Lebanese) are living in peace side by side, leaders won’t be able to use Israel as an excuse to trample over their people’s right.