There are four perceptions that Israel must manage. The perceptions of the Palestinians, the perceptions of the wider Muslim community, the perceptions of the World, and the perception of the populace of its greatest ally - the United States. I will submit that the Palestinians will never acknowledge Israel's right to exist. They simply need to be managed and/or contained like any adversary. The danger to Israel is in losing the support of the wider world and in particular the United States. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with the original stated goals of Zionism i.e. the creation of a safe sanctuary where Jews can live and prosper in peace. To this end, it is no different than the founding of an independent Ukraine, Armenia, or Kurdish Republic. The settlement activity, however, undercuts that narrative because frankly it is not that distinguishable from ethnic cleansing, and it is certainly not compatible with a law/rule based order of things. My fear is that the trade in acquiring a few extra acres from the West Bank is not worth the greater loss of credibility that would come from a negotiated solution. Plus all that acreage needs to be defended, perpetuating indefinitely a costly war to both sides.