Contiguous. Sounds like a big, fancy word. It's really not. It has a simple meaning. It means "adjoining" or "connected". An example is Canada and the United States, which are contiguous.



We are hearing the word "contiguous" a great deal now in connection with the nascent state of Palestine, which the world wishes to foist onto Israel and which Israel now has agreed to. But a contiguous state is not possible for Palestine without making Israel into a non-contiguous state.



Here's why:



The territories of Samaria and Judea (commonly called "West Bank") and Gaza are the two areas that may become the state of Palestine one day. They are separated by Israeli land, about 160 kilometers of it. That's a distance of about 100 miles.



That would be like New York City and Philadelphia being part of one country, but all the land in between - New Jersey and Pennsylvania - belonging to another nation.



So, the only way to make the West Bank and Gaza contiguous is to annex to the two sections of the proposed 'Palestine' a huge swath of Israel that now lies in between them.



Quite naturally, the Palestinians want to be able to travel to and from Gaza and the West Bank easily if they are to become part of one state. And there have been several solutions discussed in the past, including an elevated highway that would cover the distance with no exits into Israel underneath.



But now it seems that some, including US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, are talking about something far different. They are talking about something that sounds very much like Israel giving up the land between so that the West Bank and Gaza could become "contiguous". That, of course, would mean that Israel would become non-contiguous; a ridiculous solution.



Previously, the magic word to describe the sort of state Israel should bestow upon the Palestinians was "viable", meaning that all should be in working order - electricity, communications, transportation and infrastructure. That non-starter of an idea has now been replaced by "contiguous", which is even more impossible.



If President George Bush and Condoleezza Rice truly believe that it is more important for 'Palestine' to be one contiguous territory rather than Israel, which already is contiguous, then I guess we can expect to see the following headlines soon in American newspapers:



The United States Plans To Annex Western Canada In Order To Make Alaska Contiguous With The Rest Of The Lower States!



The US Corps Of Engineers Is Seeking Bids For Filling In The Pacific Ocean Between The West Coast Of Continental USA And Hawaii, In Order For The Two Parts Of The Country To Become 'Contiguous'!



Copyright 2005 © Mike Levine