...Some Palestinians believe that such a land swap would have meaningful benefits for them: They would receive Arab Jerusalem and could resettle refugees closer to their native land. Members of the Palestinian Authority have been open to the possibility of a deal along such lines, arguing privately that it should be part of a final-status agreement. They believe that, if such a package were to be accompanied by adequate economic incentives, it would become a plausible option.

But not all Palestinians currently living in Israel (the Israeli Arabs) want to be in Palestine--an objection that presents a serious moral challenge. Public opinion polls in Israel's Arab community show that only about one-third support land swaps and that most Israeli Arab leaders oppose the idea. Photo by Mahfouz Abu Turk/ReutersSome polls appearing in the Israeli-Arab press suggested that the majority of Israeli Arabs would like to see Israel alter its constitutional foundations and evolve into a binational state, erasing most of its Jewish character. This sentiment is particularly strong in those towns destined for exchange under the land-swap proposal. Recent surveys have shown that almost half of the Arab Israeli residents in those areas oppose Israel's continued existence as a Jewish and democratic state, and a significant number of them espouse fiercely radical Islamic ideology...