I have never been to Israel or to Palestine, and I have no ancestral connection to those lands. Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, I have never known anyone who overtly associated themselves with Judaism or Islam. You could say that I have no stake in the resolution of this conflict. You could say that I have no right to an opinion.

In fact, my opinion will anger many Americans, because I question our nation's unwavering support for the Israeli State. I see a disturbing pattern, set in motion over the past seventy years, whereby our "special relationship" with Israel has covered all manner of horrible sins committed by (and in the name of) our ally.

I see that the combination of fundamentalist Christianity, guilt over the Holocaust, general hostility towards the Arab World, and a very vocal pro-Israel lobby in Congress have converged to give a feeling of endurance and inevitability to perpetual American support for Israel. So ingrained is this reality that most Americans cannot - or refuse to- think critically on this policy and its serious ramifications.

The dust has not yet settled on this conflict, and with Israel denying access to reporters who wish to enter Gaza, it is very difficult to get a handle on the facts. So, I cannot comment on who started what this time around. What I can say with certainty is that it is entirely justified to question Israel and to hold them to the same international standards that the world would hold China, Australia, Germany and Russia to in a similar conflict. Certainly, Hamas must accept its share of the blame. But the underlying problem is at least as much a matter of inequality and a degraded quality of life as it is a problem of Hamas militancy.

If we look at the situation with clear eyes, we see that the power relationship is fundamentally unequal. Which society has lived in refugee camps for multiple generations? Which society lacks access to its traditional farm lands, to quality medical care, to bomb shelters? Which society has inflicted an embargo on whom, has rammed humanitarian relief ships so that they cannot reach the other? Which has the authority to ban the entrance of journalists into the lands of the other? Which has the support of the greatest global military? Israel has all of the power; Palestinians consistently suffer disproportionately.

I am reminded of the American Civil Rights Movement, which angered many White Americans at the time. The thinking by those in power was that Blacks had been liberated from slavery and that they had no right to push for more. Equality was White America's to give and to take away. The same disenfranchisement exists today, the same power differential is at the heart of this and all conflicts between Israel and Palestine.

Obviously, there are flaws in this analogy, but it is nonetheless instructive. Palestinians must fight, because their current status is untenable. And whether Israel likes it or not, the Palestinian situation is largely a result of the State of Israel being established. As much as Israel hates its reality, it is stuck with Palestine as a neighbor. As the stronger power, it needs to take the first step to resolving - not enflaming- the conflict.