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Focuses on the emergence of ethnic politics in Israel; Call for a strike by the Arabs on grounds of discriminatory treatment meted out to them in Israel; Views of an inherent problem which is deeper than discrimination and ethnic self assertion; Reference to Israeli-Palestinian relations on the West Bank; Refusal of the Arab states to accept Israeli statehood; Views that Israel must share cordial relations with the Palestinians; Israel has been liberal in its attitude towards Palestine; Resentment among the people of the West Bank on being ruled by Israel; Reference to obstacles to the Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank; Nationalism of the Jews and hostility of the surrounding Arab states.

The article discusses why the Palestinian Authority (PA) is facing its most serious internal challenge since it was established in 1994. A violent showdown in the Gaza Strip between competing nationalist factions has threatened to destroy the PA and domestic security after four years of uprising against Israel. The turmoil represents a critical danger, not just for Palestinian society and its dreams of a unified state, but also for Israel's plan to disengage unilaterally from Gaza. If Israel implements Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Palestinian society will fragment even more, lose the benefit of unified representation, and possibly lapse into bloody infighting. But it is not too late to change course: holding Palestinian national elections before Israel's withdrawal could prevent chaos and help establish the foundations for a democratic Palestinian state committed to peaceful relations with Israel. For all the hope that elections offer, conditions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are not now conducive to holding them: the ongoing violence would make it difficult for voters to reach the ballot box. Palestinian factions must reach an understanding on a complete cease-fire during the election period. The U.S. and other international actors must ensure that the Palestinians and Israel implement their election-related commitments.

Just as United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan was leaving town, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was once again donning the skullcap and visiting fortified settlements and celebrating another triumph over U.S. Netanyahu does not depend on the clerical and nationalist extremists just for votes. He depends on them as allies against the Israeli left and as shock troops for the West Bank. Moreover, they are his ideological forebears. The U.S. government persists in talking as if the only difference concerned percentages of territory, and the pace at which these would be turned over to self-rule.