Israel at 60: Proud but facing an uncertain future

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Palestinians refer to Israel's creation as 'al-Naqba', or "the catastrophe."

With Israel's occupation of Arab lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war entering its fifth decade, most Palestinians are living in poverty, fueling extremism that can spoil Mideast peacemaking.

Israel at 60 is a place where creativity flourishes, but also where Palestinians are not allowed on West Bank roads reserved for Israelis. Israelis argue Palestinians have squandered opportunities for peace. But the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, even during times of peace negotiations, has deepened Palestinian distrust of Israel's professed willingness to divide the land.

After years of resisting territorial compromise, most Israelis have come to realize their country cannot remain both Jewish and democratic if it holds lands with high Arab birth rates.

Israel's experience with evacuating territory is not a happy one. It withdrew from Gaza three years ago, but Hamas militants eventually took over the territory. This diminished prospects for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank a necessary ingredient of any future peace deal.

Israel has seen miracles before, beginning with its very birth when Jewish fighters pushed back six Arab armies.

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat also did the unthinkable when he came to Jerusalem and then signed a peace treaty with the Jewish state. And the world was stunned by a 1993 handshake on the White House lawn between former archrivals Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, raising hopes for peace in the Holy Land.

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