Are criminals the only ones that count?

Something that constantly amazes me about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (the longest running and least bloody conflict in the Middle East) is the extent to which all of us within it are beholden to an incredibly small number of people.

As if trying to prove my point it now appears as though Israelis will only be allowed to know peace if the American traitor Jonathan Pollard is released from prison and if the Palestinians decide that “only” 400 murderers instead of 1,000 will satiate them enough to continue on with negotiations that have already become laborious to the point of comatose.

In all of this debate about the American traitor Jonathan Pollard and the release of murderers I’d like to know why it is that no one’s thinking about us. Who’s thinking bout those citizens who didn’t spy on anyone, who pay their taxes, who served their mandatory military service and then joined the workforce and are just trying to live their lives as harmlessly as possible?

How’s it possible that the future for Israelis and Palestinians who just want to live their lives in peace and harmony  is dependent upon the future of murderers and spies?