I frequently wonder if there is a realistic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As a right-wing Israeli and a member of the Central Committee of the Likud party, I am a firm believer in Eretz Yisrael Hashlema, the belief that the entire land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. This belief is based on the fact that the land was conquered in a war initiated by our Arab enemies, and Israel therefore has no obligation to abandon the land. More importantly, this land was promised to the descendants of Abraham. The Jewish People has returned to its land after waiting for thousands of years and are the rightful, original owners of the land.
There are a few solutions that have been tried or voiced throughout the years in order to solve the conflict.
Land for Peace
This concept was first put into practice by the Yitzchak Rabin government over ten years ago, through the Oslo agreements. The Palestinian Authority was formed and, at its head, Yasser Arafat was transformed from arch-terrorist to political leader. He was "elected" to be the leader of the Palestinian people and was given civil control of Jericho, Gaza (over two-thirds of the Gaza Strip), Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin and a few other cities of the land of Israel.
As evident from the last few years of terror, this solution was not effective. The withdrawal from parts of the land of Israel did not bring peace. It merely created safe havens for terrorists to hide in after shooting or bombing innocent Israeli citizens. The 40,000 weapons given to the Palestinian Authority through the Oslo agreements were used mainly in terror attacks against innocent Israeli civilians.
Some prominent thinkers feel that Israel did not give the Palestinians a chance, that we didn't give them enough land, or enough control. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak decided to give them another chance at peace and offered the Palestinians 97% of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including control over parts of Jerusalem. The Palestinians, however, were not willing to accept the offer. Barak's historic sacrifice would not please the Palestinians. As evident from Barak's offer, the Land for Peace solution did not only fail, it also violates the belief in Eretz Yisrael Hashlema, a belief shared by millions of Jews in Israel, and throughout the generations.
Annexing the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Since the West Bank and Gaza Strip were conquered in a war initiated by the Arab nations, why can't Israel annex the land, thereby making the two million Arab residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip Israeli citizens? The answer is obvious. The residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip do not want to be a part of Israel. Most of them would like to see the destruction of the state of Israel. To annex the roughly two million anti-Israel Palestinians would pose a serious demographic and security threat to the Jewish State. It is clearly not a feasible solution to the problem.
Deportation/Arab Population Transfer
Some right-wing politicians have recommended the transfer of Palestinians to other countries. This would require, of course, reimbursing the Palestinians for their property and giving them compensation for the relocation. Israel couldn't just ship the Palestinians out without repaying them.
Let's assume that there are about two million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and it would cost about $20,000 to relocate each Palestinian. (This is a modest estimation, taking into account reimbursement for houses, fields, travel expenses etc.) If all of the Palestinians were to be relocated, it would cost the Israeli government $40 billion!
Little Israel cannot foot such a bill. Israel would have to ask for help from the U.S. and Europe. It is not very likely that they would agree to finance the population transfer. If Israel were to proceed with a population transfer, it may even be boycotted by Europe and the United States. The Israeli economy, which is so dependant on international trade, would not survive such a boycott.
What solutions are left? Are there any practical, realistic solutions to the problem without sacrificing our ideals?
To answer this question, one must look back at the history of the Jewish people, both in recent and in ancient times.
In 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the state of Israel. What was the logic behind the declaration? He knew that Israel had a small army, and that the surrounding Arab nations would attack. How would Israel defend itself? How did Israel survive? In 1967 and in 1973, history repeated itself, with Israel outnumbered by the surrounding Arab nations. We managed to survive all of these conflicts and we came out stronger today.
A similar phenomenon happened in Egypt about 3,300 years ago. The Israelites were cornered between the Egyptian army on one side and the Red Sea on the other. Was there a logical solution to the problem? Our history is filled with conflicts that had no logical solution - yet we managed to survive.
In all of our previous conflicts, there were no easy, logical solutions to the problems. Even so, we survived. Through our persistence and our dedication to our ideals we were able to overcome. Similarly, in the current conflict there are no easy, logical solutions. The problem will be solved only through persistence and dedication to our ideals.
The only solution to the current conflict is to continue having faith in our ideals and to continue settling the land and uprooting terror. Abandoning our ideals and withdrawal from parts of the land of Israel will only cause us harm.
As a right-wing Israeli and a member of the Central Committee of the Likud party, I am a firm believer in Eretz Yisrael Hashlema, the belief that the entire land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. This belief is based on the fact that the land was conquered in a war initiated by our Arab enemies, and Israel therefore has no obligation to abandon the land. More importantly, this land was promised to the descendants of Abraham. The Jewish People has returned to its land after waiting for thousands of years and are the rightful, original owners of the land.
There are a few solutions that have been tried or voiced throughout the years in order to solve the conflict.
Land for Peace
This concept was first put into practice by the Yitzchak Rabin government over ten years ago, through the Oslo agreements. The Palestinian Authority was formed and, at its head, Yasser Arafat was transformed from arch-terrorist to political leader. He was "elected" to be the leader of the Palestinian people and was given civil control of Jericho, Gaza (over two-thirds of the Gaza Strip), Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin and a few other cities of the land of Israel.
As evident from the last few years of terror, this solution was not effective. The withdrawal from parts of the land of Israel did not bring peace. It merely created safe havens for terrorists to hide in after shooting or bombing innocent Israeli citizens. The 40,000 weapons given to the Palestinian Authority through the Oslo agreements were used mainly in terror attacks against innocent Israeli civilians.
Some prominent thinkers feel that Israel did not give the Palestinians a chance, that we didn't give them enough land, or enough control. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak decided to give them another chance at peace and offered the Palestinians 97% of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including control over parts of Jerusalem. The Palestinians, however, were not willing to accept the offer. Barak's historic sacrifice would not please the Palestinians. As evident from Barak's offer, the Land for Peace solution did not only fail, it also violates the belief in Eretz Yisrael Hashlema, a belief shared by millions of Jews in Israel, and throughout the generations.
Annexing the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Since the West Bank and Gaza Strip were conquered in a war initiated by the Arab nations, why can't Israel annex the land, thereby making the two million Arab residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip Israeli citizens? The answer is obvious. The residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip do not want to be a part of Israel. Most of them would like to see the destruction of the state of Israel. To annex the roughly two million anti-Israel Palestinians would pose a serious demographic and security threat to the Jewish State. It is clearly not a feasible solution to the problem.
Deportation/Arab Population Transfer
Some right-wing politicians have recommended the transfer of Palestinians to other countries. This would require, of course, reimbursing the Palestinians for their property and giving them compensation for the relocation. Israel couldn't just ship the Palestinians out without repaying them.
Let's assume that there are about two million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and it would cost about $20,000 to relocate each Palestinian. (This is a modest estimation, taking into account reimbursement for houses, fields, travel expenses etc.) If all of the Palestinians were to be relocated, it would cost the Israeli government $40 billion!
Little Israel cannot foot such a bill. Israel would have to ask for help from the U.S. and Europe. It is not very likely that they would agree to finance the population transfer. If Israel were to proceed with a population transfer, it may even be boycotted by Europe and the United States. The Israeli economy, which is so dependant on international trade, would not survive such a boycott.
What solutions are left? Are there any practical, realistic solutions to the problem without sacrificing our ideals?
To answer this question, one must look back at the history of the Jewish people, both in recent and in ancient times.
In 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the state of Israel. What was the logic behind the declaration? He knew that Israel had a small army, and that the surrounding Arab nations would attack. How would Israel defend itself? How did Israel survive? In 1967 and in 1973, history repeated itself, with Israel outnumbered by the surrounding Arab nations. We managed to survive all of these conflicts and we came out stronger today.
A similar phenomenon happened in Egypt about 3,300 years ago. The Israelites were cornered between the Egyptian army on one side and the Red Sea on the other. Was there a logical solution to the problem? Our history is filled with conflicts that had no logical solution - yet we managed to survive.
In all of our previous conflicts, there were no easy, logical solutions to the problems. Even so, we survived. Through our persistence and our dedication to our ideals we were able to overcome. Similarly, in the current conflict there are no easy, logical solutions. The problem will be solved only through persistence and dedication to our ideals.
The only solution to the current conflict is to continue having faith in our ideals and to continue settling the land and uprooting terror. Abandoning our ideals and withdrawal from parts of the land of Israel will only cause us harm.