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As a conclave gets under way in Rome this week to decide Pope Francis's successor, Palestinians and Israelis will be watching closely to see what the next Pope has to say about their intractable conflict.

Keefe’s meticulous research, empowered by tapes divulging long-held secrets, results in a story without good and bad guys: just a cause worth killing and dying for, and the moral morass of upholding intractable ideals.

As her letter indicates, senior figures have conversations behind the scenes, but so far this dispute appears intractable and as the weather forecast predicts highs of 20C, the mood in the city continues to sour.

As John Maynard Keynes said of the challenges of overpopulation, the “chaining up of the one devil may, if we are careless, only serve to lose another still fiercer and more intractable.”

If Alex has a bit more credibility, not being as intractable in her positions, both have a tendency to come off as disagreeable in their incessant bickering and self-righteousness.