I agree Steve.
Israel was originally hated just for existing, but why has that hate persisted?

Perhaps because, unlike the Jews, the Arabs refused to allow their refugees to settle in their vast lands.
They were kept in abject squalor and deprivation in refugee camps.
Each new generation was taught that the Jews were responsible for their plight and that they had a sacred duty fight them.

With each failed attempt to wipe out the Jews the humiliation and losses were used to fuel more hatred, and so it goes on.

Had those refugees been allowed to be productive citizens, like the Jewish ones, that original hate would indeed be forgotten and the region, with its wonderful climate, magnificent scenery and beaches and incredible historical heritage would be the most blessed and prosperous place in the world instead of a basket case beggared by 60+ years of hatred and war.

My question to you Steve.
What could the Israelis have done differently in the face of all those attempts to over run and wipe them out?