Joe has been in a feud with Nate for as long as he can remember. Their families have lived near each other for generations and have never gotten along. Worst of all, nobody is exactly sure how the whole conflict started in the first place. Joe grew up hearing stories of his grandparents' and even great-grandparents' struggles with Nate's family and has always been so bothered by the whole situation. Joe's friends and even acquaintances he barely knows are full of various suggestions; some say that Joe should meet up with Nate for lunch to talk and try to find middle ground while others have advised Joe to offer Nate one of his prized possessions, like maybe the old baseball cap from the 20's that is now worth a nice chunk of cash.
The major issue, though, is that while Joe wants this whole feud to end so he and his family can get on with their lives, Nate and his family want Joe's family dead. Because they are subtle about this wish, only a few of Joe's friends know the truth; most think that if Joe was just a little nicer to Nate and his family, the feud would end. But Joe knows that no amount of negotiating or gift giving will ever satisfy Nate. Nate has been taught from birth to hate Joe's family and he will not give up the feud until Joe is dead.
Replace Joe with the Israelis and Nate with the Palestinians and you have the true story of the conflict in the Middle East. How can any productive negotiations ever happen when Israel wants peace and the Palestinians want Israel and its inhabitants dead? No matter how much land Israel gives up, the Palestinians will not be satisfied. They don't want a two-state solution; they want a one-state Jew-free solution. While there are numerous Palestinian Arabs who wish to live peacefully amongst their Jewish neighbors, they are greatly overshadowed by the Jew-hating leadership of the Palestinian Authority.
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