Henryk Broder in the Wall Street Journal

Here's an excerpt of a rare English-language piece by German journalist Henryk Broder, published in today's Wall Street Journal:

Just don't provoke them

Just last week, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw explained how, in the dispute with Iran over nuclear power, the West is hoping for negotiations that would avoid "humiliating" Iran and allow it to maintain its "national dignity." Future historians will be amazed at the naivete of the Europeans who see no parallels to the 1930s appeasement of the Nazis and insist on believing they have to help Iran maintain its dignity, even at the cost of nuclear disaster.

For over 50 years, the Palestinians have lived in a virtual reality, nourished by the hope of "return" and the re-establishment of the status quo before "Zionist colonization." They have lost the will to resolve the conflict politically. The suffering must continue; otherwise, all the sacrifices would have been in vain.
It is too much to expect the Palestinians to free themselves from this historical trap.

Hamas is continuing the armed struggle while at the same time demanding that the U.S. and the EU finance that struggle. After all, that is exactly what the U.S. and the EU have been doing for a long time, though via the PA, which was not even capable of neutralizing the terror commandos of the al-Aksa Brigades connected with the "moderate" Fatah. So the Americans and the Europeans will continue to call for a political solution to the conflict and they will continue to pay, no matter who governs in Ramallah. Otherwise the terrorists might get mad.