The main myth about the Arab-Israeli conflict

The main myth about the Arab-Israeli conflict, propagated by politicians, media and the intellectuals alike, is that it is a conflict only between Israel and the Palestinians. Here is the most recent such claim by a distinguished Israeli writer, who argues that dividing "the Land of Israel" into two states is a moral imperative.

Unfortunately, dividing the Land of Israel solves only half of the problem: it absolves Israelis from their part of the responsibility for the Palestinian problem, but it does not solve the problem that the Palestinians face. There are Palestinians living in Jordan (under non-Palestinian monarchy), in Syria (under a non-Palestinian dictator), and in Lebanon (where they were only recently granted the rights equating them to foreign workers) - a peace accord between Israel and Palestinians will do little to address the aspirations of those Palestinians (the majority) who are not on the territories controlled by Israel. And against whom the Arab politicians will direct the anger of the Palestinian people? - take your guess.

The problem is that the Middle East in its political development is about 100 years behind the Europe, and, as long as most of it remains monarchic/totalitarian, the Palestinians will be people without a true state. Ironically, the Arab leaders deny teh Palestinian people the same right that they deny to the Jewish people - the right for self-determination in their historical homeland.
 
Sadly, Arab Spring failed to change this state of affairs (for Europe it took two world wars.) And as long as the archaic monarchic/dictatorial order persist in the Middle East, the Arab politicians interested in holding their power, as well as the Western politicians concerned about their influence in the Middle East, will perpetuate the myth that the Palestinian problem can be resolved at the expense of Israel only.

I am not as good a writer as A. B. Yehoshua, but I think my past analysis is more logical... and I don't think Arab Spring has modified it significantly:  here and here.