"These peasant farmers, who made up the majority of the Arab population of Palestine in 1948, did not discover that they had had a “nation” of their own until they lost it." Excuse me Elias Khoury? Oh, no. You are woefully mistaken. All research on Palestinian nationalism indicate that the Palestinians had "discovered"--whatever that means--that they have a nation long before they lost it. Why would they protest early on against Zionism if they had not "discovered" that they have a nation.