I saw an interview with both Ian Paisley, then the head of the Ulstermen in Belfast, and some spokesman for the IRA several years ago. They argued about nearly everything, but the one thing they both agreed upon was that the "troubles" in Northern Ireland aren't about religion.
It's the same with Israel. That's not a religious conflict except in the minds of a few radical Islamists who use it as a pretext, and of course in the very tiny minds of certain FReepers.
In both cases they are simply TRIBAL CONFLICTS. Each side irrationally hates the other, just because they are "other." The arrogance of the typical Israeli meets the radical inferiority complex of the typical Palestinian--who is more likely to be a Marxist than a Muslim.
I HATE the "other".