Israel’s existence is a discriminatory reality for Palestinians. Peace starts with equal dignity

There is a persistent argument, repeated in glossy op-eds and political speeches, that peace will remain out of reach until Palestinians abandon what is described as a “dangerous illusion” that Israel’s existence is temporary, that one day the balance of power might shift, and that their right of return could be realised. In this telling, the central obstacle is not Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories or the months-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, but an entrenched refusal to “accept reality.”

The appeal of this argument lies in its clarity. It transforms a century of colonial dispossession, war and structural inequality into a moral grievance. Palestinians, we are told, must choose between clinging to the past or embracing a pragmatic future.

But to cast the Palestinians as delusional is to erase the material facts that have defined their lives for generations. A family displaced in 1948 does not inhabit a myth. If they have even survived, they inhabit a refugee camp in Lebanon, Jordan and Gaza, where overcrowding, statelessness and restrictions on movement are daily realities.

The rising toll since October 7, 2023, even after the “peace deal” was signed earlier this month, reinforces this stark inequality: an estimated 67,074 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault...

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