Further to my previous post, Fouad Ajami writes a dirge for the Palestinians in the New York Times. 

"The Palestinian ruin was a long time in coming. No other national movement has had the indulgence granted the Palestinians over the last half-century, and the results can be seen in the bravado and the senseless violence, in the inability of a people to come to terms with their condition and their needs."

It is a sad but unflinching critique of Palestinian society and leadership.

"No international peacekeeping force can bring order to the deadly streets and alleyways of Gaza. A population armed to the teeth and long in the throes of disorder can’t be pacified by outsiders."

"No Arabs wait for Palestine anymore; they have left the Palestinians to the ruin of their own history."