Israel has no partner for peace because the Palestinian leadership hasn’t prepared their people for peace. Palestinian society has limited access to ideas and information outside of their society, as they are a totalitarian government that limits free speech and expression. The vast majority of Palestinians cling to the demand of the full return of Palestinian refugees to Israel proper, as well as believing that the fight against Israel is not only to end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, but also to destroy the entire state of Israel, or support a “one-state solution.”
Most people who understand the history of the conflict between these countries will appreciate why Jewish people and Israelis in particular do not rush to embrace solutions that others wish to impose on them. What the final solution sought to impose on the Jews of Europe during World War II, the “one-state solution” advocated will namely be the destruction of Israel as an independent Jewish state.
Here one must look to the past behavior of those proposing the “solution” to discern where the idea, if implemented, is headed. A good place to start would be to become aware of the hate-filled curriculum Palestinian children are indoctrinated with from their earliest age regarding the Israeli state. In 1993, the Oslo Agreements were introduced in Israeli schools. To promote understanding of the nation’s efforts to achieve peace, the government introduced peace education. Hearts, flowers and doves decorated books about getting along with Arab neighbors. On the Palestinian end, ninth graders study from official textbooks that assert, “Treachery and disloyalty are character traits of the Jews and therefore one should beware of them.” Jews are cast as satanic, violent and cunning, as “thieving conquerors” who have stolen Arab land and must be fought and defeated. How can Israel promote peace when death and violence are being taught to children in Palestinian schools?
At its heart, the principle of a pro-Western, independent, successful, vibrant, democratic, non-Islamic country in the region is what has motivated all the attempts to destroy Israel as a Jewish state. The recent notion (only since 1967) of their being an independent “Palestinian state” is one of its offshoots. The Arab countries surrounding Israel (Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan and Iraq—650,000 Jews against 40 million Arabs) attacked her on her birth as a modern state in 1948 seeking her destruction. Their actions created a refugee crisis, which they exacerbated by their refusal to accommodate their displaced fellow Arabs. Instead, they allowed them to fester in refugee camps on the West Bank and Gaza. It is for these individuals that the fictionalized term “Palestinian people” now applies and for which a “Palestinian state” is being sought.
At the end of the day, a one-state solution is calling for the annihilation of Israel. Due to terrorism and incitement, a two-state solution is the only tenuous possibility for peace. Israel longs for peace, but as long as Hamas and Fatah rule as feuding nations, hatred is being taught to children in schools and rockets continue to be launched into Israel, national security will continue to remain at the heart of Israel’s decision-making.
Israel does not seem to want any other peace solution but the one that it want to ‘impose’ on the Palestinians – that is devoid of Islamic breed and creed and disarmed – while Israel remains armed and IS the most dangerous state in the Middle East with its nuclear weapons…
That is not going to bring peace to the region. That also shows that Israel is the one party that is ‘dictatorial’ hence undemocratic.
Talking of ‘rockets’ falling into Israel, I wonder how much damages these ‘tin pot’ rockets are causing to the Jews in Israel or whether the people of Israel are so weak that they are afraid of tin pots that does little or no damages?
What commenter “cordoba ali” calls tin pot rockets are actually seriously lethal highly inaccurate, and therefore all the more dangerous rockets. They are intentionally shot into civillian areas, and the only reasons that there have been few Israeli casualties is that:
(a) Israel invests a lot in its citizen’s security, and has installed many (but not enough) bomb shelters, where residents of Sderot, for example, have all of FIFTEEN seconds to run to. Imagine clearing a kindergarden class in that amount of time.
(b) through its blockade of the Gaza Strip and bombing of metal workshiops that were used as makeshift weapons factories, and of smuggling tunnels, it has severely limited the amount and kind of weaponry available to the Hamas, Jihad, Tantzim and other terrorrists (including such affilliated with the “moderate” Fatah).
Check out http://ariefolger.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/what-is-a-qassam-rocket/ to see some Qassam rockets (and a more lethal Grad rocket), as well as for a glimpse at the quantity of rockets that fell on Sderot alone.
M(r)s. Lazarus, thank you for an informative and refreshing article.
@Arie, in no way am I promoting the killing of ANY human being. But, you have to see the fact that Hamas does not have the materials to create the kind of weapons that Israel is producing on a daily basis. For example, during the Siege of Gaza, many citizens were hit with white phosphorus shells. One of them being the UN Headquarters in Gaza. Just to make it clear, nobody in Gaza has a bombshell.
Also about the source that you have posted for the “Qassam Rockets”, that source is extremely bias… you should actually try watching mainstream media it might actually help your argument
I am not following the article. Who exactly is calling for a one state solution? Not the PNA. They have already recognized Israel and will accept a Palestinian state on the lands occupied in the 1967 war, which includes East Jerusalem. The refugee problem can obviously be resolved through negotiation, and most likely an arrangement can be reached involving some sort financial compensation for the refugees and their respective host countries.
The above is not the real problem. The deal breaker is that Israel simply does not want to give up the lands it occupied in the 1967 war.
Well Israel cannot have it both ways. The only way to prevent a one state solution is by allowing a two state solution. And for that to happen Israel has to let go of the occupied territories.
God gave the land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and He will yet again deliver the land, from the Tigris to the Nile to the people of Israel. God Himself will destroy all of Israel’s enemies, and this will happen soon.
@Farid: The article this is a response to, one by a gentleman named Glatzer, called for a one-state solution. No one involved in the peace process is discussing a one-state solution because it could not concievably solve any of the Palestianians’ or Israelis’ problems and therefore does not merit discussion.
The problem is not that Israel does not want to relinquish control of lands gained in the ‘67 war, though removing fundamentalist settlers from their homes could prove difficult and controversial. The problem is that Israel is not sure it has an honest broker in Abbas, and anyway he only speaks for the Palestinians not living in Gaza. Israel will relinquish conrol of the West Bank, as it did with the Sinai Peninsula, under circumstances where it feels it can gain from such a move.
@Rick: When God does destroy Israel’s enemies, I’ll buy you a drink. Hell, I’ll buy you a thousand drinks.
Israel has never wanted peace with the Palestinians. Israel has resisted and sabotaged every peace agreement with the Palestinians for the past 50 years. Israel wants Palestinian land to build a Greater Israel and is determined to drive the Palestinians off their land via land stealing, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and terrorism.
Israel attacked 1.5 million defenselee Palestinian civilians in Gaza in 2008-2009, and slaughter of over 1450 of them. Hopefully, Israel will be charged with Warcrimes and Crimes against Humanity for its crimes on Gaza, for there can be no peace without justice.
Wow a .1% kill ratio. Sounds like they were targeting the terrorists as claimed. Genocide? There are 1.7 Million Palestinians living in Israel with full citizenship and rights to vote, own land, serve in the government. Oh, and women can do stuff like drive and go out alone.
Name one Arab country that offers Palestinians all of those rights? Hmm, thought so.
i’m not validating your bogus statistic; but hypothetically; what would your reaction be if palestinian militants killed .1% of israeli children? do you really think 400 children dead children in gaza is targeting terrorists?
were they hiding bombs in their diapers?
Isreal is the biggest war-seeking country to ever exist
Israel*
Please don’t bring God into the debate. The UN did it all legal like back in ‘48. The Arabs have launched 5 wars of genocide and annihilation since that time. Each time they got their ass handed to them. They can’t stand that a few Jews are able to hold back the millions of Muslims that want them dead.
What the Arab Muslims need to understand is that when you start a war or 5 and lose, you don’t get to dictate the content of the peace treaty. That is why there is still a declared war by all of the Arab states except Egypt and Jordan. And the only reason they accepted peace was because they didn’t want hassle of administering the nightmares they created on the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel is not the most dangerous state in the Middle East, but a country that would use Nukes, regardless of having them is. A people that would cheer as the Twin Towers came down on 9/11 is. A religion that preaches deception and murder is.
Actually the video of Palestinian’s cheering during 9/11 is false it comes from 1992. Just FYI since you want to bring up the past. That was something TV stations apologized for later but not in a public light. There was a debate about AIPAC using their influence to tie those two issues together even though remarkable enough the weapons that the Mujahideen fighters who would later be known as Al-Quaeda got in Afghanistan were funneled through Israel. 9/11 and the Israeli occupation are not connected by the same people.
And in 1948 the “UN” didn’t do anything legally they used the colonial British Authority to deliver the land of Palestinians to another people. Just like the French had no right to cede the lands of Native American people to the US.
The right of conquest? That’s your argument dude. I think Israel shouldn’t be wiped off the map it’s too late for that it deserves to exist but making up excuses for their horrible human rights record isn’t going to win any sort of argument. If might makes right then Hitler winning would have made what he did right. Winning a war doesn’t make you in the right. Neither does having a Revolution. The Civil War was a revolution does that make what the confederacy did right? No.
Think before you speak man.
go lazarus!! tell us how u really feel ;p
Let me remind you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOJCQr1Now
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/8807/eight-years-later-three-things-to-remember-on-911-anniv/
People need to understand what Palestinians go through before anything. Hate is created in Palestinians children hearts from what they see and from what happens to them. Israeli children as well as adults are taught hate. Who can think of peace in a big jail created by the separation wall, or while they are searched to go through a check point and are not allowed to go pray or go to school, or maybe when they are stripped from their lands, and homes. Or maybe they can think about peace while being bombed or while a gun is pointing at their heads. We all know what is happening but Israel invests millions of dollars to have people like you write an article that make Palestinians trash in people’s eyes. Israel get billions of money From the U.S. to expand thier military power, and build walls, destroy homes and let settlers move in. Why don’t we talk about what Israel does for peace, like kill 400 children and 1000 civilians in less than a week. Or maybe massacre a whole village like the 1982 “Sabra and shatila” massacre. Not to mention the daily beating, killing, and the humiliation Palestinians have to go through. Palestinians want to be treated with a little dignity, then they can think about peace treaties. Stop the oppression, the control, the murdering and listen to them, you might learn something. Israel does not want to give Palestinians a voice so the world does not find out they are actually human beings. Israel works so hard to destroy the name Palestine so they can have the light. And there is one reason for that, Palestinians have the truth and that is scary to Israeli supporters.
@Arie, in no way am I promoting the killing of ANY human being. But, you have to see the fact that Hamas does not have the materials to create the kind of weapons that Israel is producing on a daily basis. For example, during the Siege of Gaza, many citizens were hit with white phosphorus shells. One of them being the UN Headquarters in Gaza. Just to make it clear, nobody in Gaza has a bombshell.
Peace is not beneficial for all people. http://inspirationwriting.blogspot.com/2009/10/do-all-people-seek-peace.html