I think we hold ourselves to a higher moral standard today than we did seventy years ago, which is good. I think we also recognize that we as a nation are implicated in Israel’s war crimes in a way that we’re not with respect to the people of Sudan or other places where genocide or apartheid are occurring.

We can call it war if you want, but in that case we would need to recognize that the Palestinians have as much right to defend themselves as the Israelis. And like the French resistance, the dissolution of any state that could credibly control its armed forces, and the reliance on asymmetric strategy and tactics, cannot be deemed illegitimate just because it often targets civilians. As you yourself point out, civilian death is common even in “conventional” wars.

But generally we deny the Palestinians this agency, and it would behoove you to ask why?