The modern Palestine narrative began when the UN proposed partitioning the British Mandate for Palestine into two states, Jewish leaders accepted the plan and proclaimed the State of Israel in May 1948. Arab leaders rejected it, went to war, and no Arab state was created.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs were displaced. Instead of establishing the Arab state envisioned by the UN, neighboring Arab governments focused on reversing Israel’s creation. Many Palestinians remained stateless, living in refugee camps and relying on neighboring countries that largely refused either to integrate them or to pursue the creation of the state that had originally been offered.

In the decades that followed, organizations such as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and various fedayeen groups emerged as the political and military leaders of the Palestinian cause. At the same time, international concern for Palestinian refugees grew steadily. Billions of dollars in humanitarian aid flowed into the region, yet the refugee crisis remained largely unresolved.

This prolonged crisis created powerful political incentives. Rather than resolving the refugee issue, Palestinian militant organizations, several Arab governments, and later Iran-backed........

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