Two things strike visitors to Israel and the Palestinian territories, one depressing the other less so. The first is the distance between international discourse about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and perceptions on the ground. The second is the remoteness of Israeli politics from a common caricature of monolithic obduracy.

The mindset of most outsiders, including international negotiators in the Quartet of the US, European Union, United Nations and Russia, is still framed by the Oslo accords of the early 1990s. The so-called road map to a two-state solution is rooted in the idea that the peace process that began then can be revived. A settlement depends on the comprehensive agreements on territory and security arrangements envisaged at Oslo. It will happen at a run or not at all.