Irreconcilable Phenomena

I have a problem with the following sentence from Lily Rahim's review, in the Sydney Morning Herald (18/8/18), of Ed Husain's new book, The House of Islam: A Global History:

"Despite the penetrating insights in The House of Islam, Husain's narrative of the myriad hurdles confronting the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, and Israel's role in this struggle, is somewhat disappointing."

My problem here is this: Israel doesn't merely have a "role" in erecting roadblocks to Palestinian self-determination. Israel is the roadblock to Palestinian self-determination. In essence, Israel is because Palestine isn't.

In the prescient words of the early Arab nationalist Najib Azuri, written in 1905: "Two important phenomena, similar in nature and yet opposed to each other, which have not yet attracted the attention of anybody, are now manifesting themselves in Asiatic Turkey, namely the awakening of the Arab nation and the concealed effort of the Jews to reestablish the ancient monarchy of Israel on a grand scale. These two movements are destined to a continuous struggle, until one of the two prevails over the other. On the final outcome of the struggle between these two peoples, representing two opposing principles, will depend the destiny of the entire world."

Either Rahim is pulling her punches here, or the Herald is practicing self-censorship.