If he continues to outflank his enemies on Israel's right, who accuse him of betraying them, he is set fair to demolish the Palestinian perception that Israel talks and stalls but never quits a single settlement.
The violence's immediate cause is the Palestinian perception that Israel is trying to impose Jewish prayer at the expense of Muslim primacy at al-Aqsa, which is on a site Jews revere as having housed the biblical temples.
But, underscoring the chasm between Israeli and Palestinian perceptions, the Fatah representatives described Ms. Mughrabi as a courageous fighter who held a proud place in Palestinian history.
Both controversies have revived popular Palestinian perceptions of Fatah as the "wheeler-dealers" of the PA, corrupt and spineless collaborators with the Israeli occupier.And, as usual, the hardliners and militants prosper when the moderates appear weak and disconnected from the grassroots.
However, a modified and limited, but very public and systematic, withdrawal of settlers from remote or particularly confrontational settlements, especially from the so-called outposts that even Israel considers illegal, would have a powerful effect on Palestinian perceptions about Israel's long-term intentions.
While incentives will eventually become necessary to lock in an agreement, there are three essential impediments that must first be mitigated in order to change the Israelis' and Palestinians' perception of each other to enable them to negotiate in good faith.
The Palestinian's perception of a continued Israeli threat and the lingering fear of Israel's ill intentions further deepened their sense of insecurity which justified their use of force against the source of the threat.
To Palestinians, the Israeli perception of restraint in that incident and any other sounds ludicrous and offensive.
The perception among Palestinians is that the Israelis want to drag the process out, to build new settlements, expand existing ones, that Israel still controls their lives," he said.
However, for Tamini, activists play an essential role in ending the occupation because of the power they have to change the perception of Palestinians abroad.
While the fence's effectiveness in curbing terrorism is more perception than reality, Palestinian attacks inside Israel have decreased significantly since the early 2000s, when bus bombings and suicide attacks were weekly, even daily occurrences.
