“I think one helpful angle is to emphasize who belongs to the Land – *not* who the Land supposedly ‘belongs’ to. From this perspective, Jews quite obviously belong in/to the Land, having originated there over 3,000 years ago. But so too do Palestinian Arabs; as well as Bedouin Arabs, Druze, Arameans, Assyrians, longtime refugees from the Armenian and Circassian genocides, and more recent African and Ukrainian refugees. The Land itself, however, doesn’t ‘belong’ to just one group/nation, in an exclusionary sense.” -Sean Sanford
This re-frame of “who belongs to/in the land” rather then “who the land belongs to” is powerful!
Dozens of groups of people have belonged to/in the land of Palestine/Israel over the millennia! The human tendency to “be right” and “make other people wrong” as an ingrained and automatic behavior, this is at the root of dissension, warfare and genocide on the planet.
(Once we are aware of this automatic tendency, with practice, we can notice, observe and being responsible for “being right” and “making other people wrong”. We can choose presence or neutrality or maybe even LOVE!!!)
We can allow ourselves first, and other folkx, safe passage through our ego or place of judgment! Scarce natural resources such as fodder for herd animals and water might also be at the root of cultural aggression passed down through the millennia. This is a Desert!