The Palestinian problem has been in the headlines for over fifty years now. The terrorists who struck the Twin Towers and every statement issued by Osama Bin Laden and his acolytes all bear linkages to this issue.

Instead of looking at the roots of the problem -- Palestinian independence, national sovereignty, human rights -- many analysts in the western media focus only on the symptoms. Much of their energy goes towards deciphering why the Middle East conflict holds such significance and is so sensitive an issue for more than a billion Muslims across the globe and for the Arab world in particular.

It is unfortunate that conflicts arise wherever Islamic and other civilisations happen to meet. They require the immediate attention of the world but are instead allowed to grow and become protracted. With the sole exception  of Bosnia, no serious attempt has ever been made to reach a resolution.

Many hotspots such as Sudan, Nigeria, Macedonia, Chechnya, Mindanao in the Philippines, Sinkiang in China, Timor, Palestine and Kashmir warrant the urgent involvement of western powers and the  international community as a whole. The situation has been further aggravated by the US-led attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq. The aggressive posture of western powers, again spearheaded by the US, on Iran and Syria has added yet another dimension to the problem, serving only to augment the brewing anger of the Muslim world.

The onus lies with the people who are for the most part responsible for creating these problems which are all geopolitical, ethnic, social and cultural in nature. They are not created by Islam itself; rather, in certain places, they are created because of Islam and its proximity to those places.

The potential and vitality of Islam has not yet been exploited to resolve these problems. Instead, Islam is now being blamed for their irresolution and protraction. There cannot be no graver disregard for truth. In Algeria, for example, elections were cancelled when the so-called proponents of democracy, human rights and dignity saw Islamists heading for victory.

The unfortunate orgy of bloodletting which followed was blamed on
Islamists. In the case of Palestine, the West as well as Israel is jittery
about the prospect of Hamas gaining electoral success in line with the
West's own democratic principles. The difference between truth and
falsehood, right and wrong, has become irrelevant in some western
minds. Of course, not all westerners agree with their rulers on these
counts.

Certain elements in western intelligentsia have managed to calculate the relative 'popularity' of the Palestinian issue in the Muslim world. Compared to other matters of concern, they say, the reaction in the lands of Islam is markedly different when it comes to Palestine.

Firstly, according to these analysts, Israel is an open and democratic
society and as such it is easier to report and misreport whatever happens there. The issue is, at times, magnified to the disadvantage of Israel.

Secondly, as Jews are involved, Muslim sensitivities are greater than the norm and this makes for an exaggerated response to all events
happening in Israel and Palestine.

Thirdly, it is a 'licensed grievance', the only complaint that can be freely and safely expressed in despotic Muslim states where the media is strictly controlled. For the governments of these states, the Palestinian issue is a great 'stand-in complaint' that serves to gloss over more immediate problems such as economic deprivation and political repression.

Exploring the fault lines of these arguments, it is easy to deduce that the Jewish-controlled western media has successfully exploited and
influenced the perceptions of a large majority of the western intelligentsia. In this scenario, it comes as no surprise that there is no solution in sight to the Palestinian issue.

Mr Mahmood Abbas's naive assessment that there can be an
independent, sovereign and economically viable Palestinian state in a
year's time is nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of a gullible Palestinian leader. Only this time he has voiced his views a little too loudly. Even Mr Bush does not care to bet on this and instead rests his  hope on 2009.

The third player in this triangle has not come out with any timeline. It has only voiced its concern and put forth demands that are beyond both Bush and Abbas. One hates to end on a pessimistic note but then fate is impossible to beat.