Both sides have intractable demands that are impossible to meet. The conflict isn’t territorial, it’s existential.

One of the most common lessons I received as a child was that I can’t always get what I want. As for many others, this was a fundamental, if often frustrating, aspect of childhood. Another similarly vital, albeit contradictory childhood lesson, is that if we put our minds to it, we can achieve anything.

So too, in the Israeli-Palestinian arena—which has just witnessed what may be Israel’s largest counterterror operation in the West Bank in 20 years—do we endlessly repeat the slogan that bringing both sides together for negotiations will lead to a solution.

But despite reinforcing this adage from our youth, and despite decades-long efforts by world leaders, a viable solution remains elusive. So, perhaps it’s time we ask ourselves an uncomfortable question: What if Israeli-Palestinian peace is impossible?