One of the odder features of human nature, behavioral psychologists observe, is that we judge an idea as much by its proponents as by its merits. When President Trump suggested the United States no longer saw separate Israeli and Palestinian states as its preferred outcome, his supporters nodded along while his opponents had theatrical fainting fits.

Quite a reversal, in some cases, of their previous positions. Leftists around the world were suddenly shocked – shocked – by what the New York Times called Trump’s “nonsensical statement.” Yet the same people were generally relaxed when Hamas and Hezbollah backed the idea. Indeed, the PLO always wanted a one-state solution: “A Palestine for all Palestinians whether they be Muslims, Christians or Jews.”