As I've frequently remarked, the conflict will never be solved in that way because the basic issue is not land, or borders, or Jerusalem but the Arab refusal to tolerate living with Jews in the Middle East under conditions of peace and equality unless they literally have no alternative, something that originated with the advent of Islam.That is particularly true of those who style themselves as 'Palestinians'.
A few recent stories from the Middle East serve to illustrate exactly what I'm talking about:
- On Christmas Eve, December 24, Rabbi Meir Chai (HY"D), who left a wife and seven children including a two-month-old was brutally murdered by Palestinian terrorists as he driving along Route 57, between the Samaria communities of Shavei Shomron and Einav.The killing came a scant week after the IDF removed a security checkpoint in the area at the request of the Obama Administration as a gesture to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, even though the residents begged them not to.
Fatah's al-Aksa Martyr's Brigade took credit for murdering this unarmed Rabbi.
Three days later, the IDF found out who the actual killers were, and when the Palestinian security forces refused to arrest them the IDF went in and ended up killing all three of the murderers when they refused to surrender.
As it turned out, all three of the killers were long-time members of the Al-Aksa Martyr's Brigade and thus on the Fatah payroll.
The Palestinian response to what happened was not even a pro-forma condemnation of the murder of Rabbi Chai, but to portray the killers as Palestinian heroes and Shahids- holy Martyrs - while describing Israel's response as "murder in cold blood" and "assassination."
- On January 1st, the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas once again honored the memory of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi by sponsoring a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of her birth.
Mughrabi's claim to fame was something the Israelis refer to as The Coastal Raod Massacre, the 1978 hijacking by a band of Palestinian terrorists of a bus filled with families on a day outing. it resulted in the murder of thirty five innocent people, thirteen of them children. The death toll included Gail Rubin, an American citizen.
According to al-Hayatt, many Palestinian dignitaries were present at the ceremony honoring Mughrabi, and a children's marching band was featured.
The PA further glorified Mughrabi on the date of her birth when the Governor of Ramallah announced the naming of the "Dalal Mughrabi Square", while an article by Fatah spokesman Jamal Nazal in the official PA daily defined the terrorist Mughrabi as "the heroine of Palestine's heroines."
Again, this is hardly the first time the Palestinian Authority has seen fit to glorify murderers, especially when it involves making them role models for Palestinian children.
- Salam Fayyad, the unelected prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority is what gullible westerners think of when they picture 'moderate Palestinians.'
With his tailored suits, American background cultured speech and perfect english, you could easily see him fitting in at a Washington soiree, and his western persona has been an important part in keeping Western aid money coming on to the Palestinian Authority.
Apparently that facade disappears when he's speaking to his own people in Arabic.
At a political meeting in Ramallah last night, Fayyad ginned up the crowd by calling for the ethnic cleansing of all Jews in Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem from the new 'Palestinian state'.
Are you beginning to see a pattern here?
What the Palestinians want is not a state of their own living next door to Israel, What they want is a Palestinian state instead of Israel, a Jew-free Arab Islamist Reich from the Jordan to the Mediterranean.It can be seen in how they educate their young, whom they honor as heroes and who leads them.
A matter of days after he signed the Oslo Accords, Yasir Arafat went on Jordanian TV and responded to criticism of his making an agreement with Israel by citing the account in the Islamic hadiths of the Peace of Hubidiyeh, which tells how Mohammed abided by a peace treaty with his enemies that was supposed to be permanent - until he was strong to overcome them and massacre them.
Arafat clearly stated that this was a tribal war, that 'either we will push the Jews into the sea or they will push us into the sea'.
His political commissar in Jerusalem, Fayad Husseini characterized Oslo in much the same way, famously referring to it as a 'trojan horse'.
Nothing has changed in the Palestinian mindset since then, and it's not a recipe for peace.
Even if the Israelis were somehow forced to cede a Palestinian state all the territory they're demanding ( and there's no chance of that unless Israel is conquered militarily, in which case the issue would become moot anyway), there is no way a 'Palestine' could survive economically or politically unless it was in close alliance with Israel, another impossibility at this point.
And aside from that, there's also the problem that the Palestinians themselves have little in common aside from a hatred for Israel and a manufactured feeling of victimization. They differ by clan, by national origin, by location, ( Arabs in Gaza have little in common with Arabs in Ramallah or Nablus)by affiliation with Hamas, Fatah or affilited groups like the Dugbush. If Israel were to disappear, or if a peace agreement ever recognized the official end of hostilities, the 'Palestinian' jumble would rapidly separate into its separate pieces.Gaza was a superb example of how that would work.
That was also one primary reason why Yasir Arafat was so reluctant to sign an agreement with Ehud Barak during the Clinton years that would have given him virtually everything he wanted.
This situation will continue to muddle on until Israel realizes the tribal war they're engaged in, the West gets tired of subsidizing the Palestinians and yes, even the Arab states get tired of it and decide to work together to solve it by dong something they should have done years ago - integrating the Palestinian refugees into their countries.
-selah-
I think the best place to start would be for Israel to simply say "no." For example, when Barak Oboma or any other American leader tells Israel to remove check points or to release Palestinian prisoners, simply say "no" and don't do what they say.
ReplyDeleteWhen Israel agrees to such things they cut the legs out from under their allies in America and elsewhere in the world. Israel is a soverign country. If a soverign country wishes to remove check points, who are we to question the actions of a soverign country who poses no threat to us? By saying "no" Israel strengthens the hand of its allies and it strengthens itself.
As for conquring Israel militarily, the only country who like could do this right now would be Russia.