Since the Palestinian Arabs consider all of Israel to be "occupied territory" and fundamentally reject Israel's existence, Israel is entitled to proceed with building in Jerusalem, the historic Jewish capital to which the Jews yearned to return for 1,900 years. The Palestinian Arabs think that if they continue their rejectionism they will do better; they need to learn that the longer they continue, the worse they do. They could have had a state in 1948, 1967, any time in between, or in 2000, 2008 and many other occasions when they were offered one. But they don't want a state next to Israel; they only want a state if they can destroy Israel. And given the "success" of all neighbouring Arab countries in running peaceful democratic states with civil rights and human rights, a "Palestine" would be the same or worse.

Jerusalem and Palestine were ignored backwaters until the Jews began returning in large numbers and rebuilt the country from neglect, desert and swamp into what's there now.