The Palestinian cause has existed since 1948, with rarely even a half decade of quiet during that time. Oddly enough, in all of the media coverage and activism around that cause, Palestinians themselves seem to have no agency. In the pro-Palestinian narrative, things simply happen to the Palestinian people, entirely caused by outside forces. In psychology, a concept called “locus of control” describes how individuals perceive their own control over events and behavior. Those with an internal locus of control feel they have a great degree of influence, while those with an external locus of control view their fate as determined by forces outside themselves. Generally, an internal locus is psychologically healthier than its opposite, as it allows the individual to own his choices and make positive changes in his life.
The Palestinian cause, its leadership, and its foreign backers fully embrace the psychologically unhealthy option — a totally external locus of control. Everyone else, but particularly Israel and the Jewish people writ large, is to blame for the woes of the Palestinian people. In reality, however, the Palestinians have a great deal of control over their situation. The self-abnegation of their agency is a tactic meant to camouflage consistently poor choices and overwhelming hatred of Jews, while garnering sympathy from useful idiots in the West.
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