No, no, of course that's exceedingly unlikely. Neither would yours, in all likelihood, if you were there, nor would either of our perspectives likely be unchanged if we were Israeli citizens and had lost loved ones to Hamas.

But that we can make people act fairly predictably by manipulating their conditions doesn't tell us whether those actions are rational or just or provide a path towards a better future. They only tell us, "Well, what do you expect, given the circumstances!"

The wisdom you gain can still be wise even if others haven't had the opportunity to stand where you do. So I maintain that, yes, in that situation without cognition impaired in the ways it tends to be when in that situation I would have been most displeased with my own leadership, not Israel, prior to October 7.

And the path to better conditions for everyone is embracing normalization of relations and economic development with low levels of corruption. Yes, it's unfair with Israel's constant encroachments, but it's a lot better than the alternative while trying to appeal to Israeli's moral sense. It's a lot better than attacking, losing territory, organizing to attack more, losing more territory, attacking yet again, losing yet more territory. That's insane. If I have to live in the real world, I want my leaders to do things that will work in the real world.

I understand of course that the land could not be bought now. There are many prerequisites first: normalization of relations, extensive economic interactions, mutual agreements about cross-border land ownership, and so on. These things could take generations to work out.

After October 7, however, I'm less certain. Of course the attack on Israel would make me, were I a Palestinian but with perspective intact, absolutely loath Hamas almost beyond words. But Israel has engaged in enough wantonly inhumane acts that I would loath them too almost beyond words. Whether it's the long period of restriction of humanitarian aid, the unbelievable level of destruction of infrastructure, the absence of adequately safe refuge, the Israeli government is responsible for a great deal of avoidable suffering.

Most importantly for this discussion, if someone is a prisoner of their circumstances, the appropriate attitude is not to say, "You would do as they do if you too were a prisoner." Rather, it's to try to set them free.

And the path to setting them free is not necessarily to encourage them in what they're already doing and to think what they're already thinking.