Settlements are not the root problem

Jerry Rapp has as good a take on it as anybody.

The contention that Israeli settlements built on land occupied by Israel after the war of June, 1967, are the major obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians is a red herring. That war, the third in just 19 years that Israel was forced to wage in self-defense, was virtually universally recognized at the time as being necessary for Israel's survival because of provocative and belligerent threats from its Arab neighbors. MORE

A good historical overview.