Interpretations of the past and expectations for the future among Israeli and Palestinian youth.

This study was developed by a group of Israeli and Palestinian researchers for the purpose of examining social knowledge of young people in the conflicted region of the Middle East. The article examines the relations between measures of interpretations of the past (perceptions of legitimacy and emotional reactions toward the historical "narratives" of Israelis and Palestinians) and measures of expectations of the collective future, as reflected in conflict resolution beliefs. Data were collected from December 1999 to February 2000 (before the present crisis [2000-2002] in Jewish-Palestinian relations) among representative samples of high school students (Grades 10 and 12): 1,183 Palestinians in the Palestinian National Territories and 1,188 Israeli Jewish students. The results are discussed from developmental, social, and cultural perspectives.