Europe and the Middle East: Wanted: a European road-map for peace | The Economist

"Europeans should devise a better way forward, based more on terms of incentives for peace, and less on penalties for the lack of it. They should set out a European ‘roadmap’ for peace: a graduated series of incentives that they are willing to offer both sides for progress, culminating with the prospect of NATO and EU membership if and when they reach a final peace deal.... Israel is as democratic and European in outlook as Malta, Cyprus or indeed Turkey... What of the Palestinians? They count as a justifiable exception. They are, on the whole, the most democratic, dynamic and globalised people in the Arab world.... And even if Europe is a predominantly Christian club, who could really object to the inclusion of Jerusalem? .... Zionism was born in Europe in response to European anti-Semitism; the contours of Israel and Palestine were carved out by the British Empire. The embrace of the European family would be an act of atonement."