how many ways can we argue a point?

The Nativist Ethnography of Tawfiq Canaan was another way to justify a group of people's claim to the disputed land of Palestine and Israel. There have been so many ways in which people of this area have claimed that the land belongs to them. Quoting religious text, pointing to blood lines, occupation history, political agreements, history of rule; the list can go on and on. What Canaan aimed to do was find another way of justifying the Palestinians' claim to the land by showing ways in which  Palestinian peasantry culture has influenced the traditions of the area. An interesting point brought up in Salim Tamari article is that the ethnographic evidence was written not for an Arabic intellectual class, but written in English and targeted to an European audience, i.e. the Mandate political elite, Western biblical scholars, archeologist, and historians. With his work, Cannan was trying to challenge a colonial policy that questioned the authenticity of Palestinian roots in the land.

In my opinion it is a waist of time to use intellectual energy to create new claims to the disputed land. In the end, there will be a counter argument, and no forward progress will be made in creating solutions to the conflict. I hope that one day people can re-evaluate what is important, and funnel their knowledge and energy appropriately. We are speaking of a piece of disputed land yes, but this in no ordinary political situation, which will have an ordinary solution. We are speaking of a disputed piece of 'sacred geography' which people have been making claims of ownership to for thousands of years.

What is it going to take? Of course I do not have the answers, but I feel that this far, no one has come up with any answer which is well thought out enough or novel enough for this sacred space.