To the Editor:

Robert Wright misses the key obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking when he proposes an imposed U.N. plan on the parties ("A U.N. Plan for Israel," Dec. 14).

Wright, like many others, is frustrated by the lack of progress toward peace, and because he believes that everyone knows what a final agreement would look like, he concludes that it then makes sense to seek an imposed solution.

What he misses and what an imposed solution cannot provide is a willingness by the Palestinians to fundamentally change their mindset about the legitimacy of the state of Israel. That mindset is reflected in more than six decades of Palestinian rejection of the legitimacy of Israel and its continued teaching of the illegitimacy and hatred of Israel to its own people.

If the Palestinians believe that the international community is moving toward an imposed solution, they will conclude that they don't have to take that leap forward toward truly accepting Israel.

Let's not fall for these illusionary and counterproductive approaches.  Only direct negotiations between the parties, with each accepting the legitimacy of the other's narrative, will lead to a real and lasting peace.