evidence: But despite this reality, which shapes the lives of Israelis and Palestinians every day, some have preferred to hold onto the Green Line. That 1949 line, famously sketched in green ink during armistice talks, exists only on maps—fewer and fewer maps by the day. In fact, as Gershom Gorenberg has written, the green line began to disappear from official Israeli maps after an original directive written by Yigal Allon on Oct. 30, 1967, just months after it occupied the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem. [...] In some respects, the green-lined vision is attractive. For example, it emphasizes principles of international law and helps hold a territorial space for a Palestinian state to one day be realized in. But for others, it is a useful way to displace responsibility and avoid politically inconvenient implications. Among Democrats in the United States, for example, as the party’s base grows increasingly uncomfortable with Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, officials rely on professed support of a two-state solution as a quick way to signal displeasure with the horrific status quo. [...] Green-lined vision also perpetuates a framework that includes a false parity between the powerful state of Israel and the stateless Palestinians it occupies militarily. In doing so, it creates alternate realities that allow policymakers to look the other way. Green-lined vision allows us to speak of the relevance of the Palestinian Authority, for example, its "government" and its elections and policies, creating a semblance of balance between entities when one in fact dominates the other.