Peace Now

"Land for Peace"

September 15, 1938: British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain set out for Germany to visit Adolph Hitler. Hitler wasn't asking for too much... just the liberation of the German-speaking areas of Czechoslovakia [Sudetenland]. It was a sweet little "Land for Peace" deal that would hopefully appease the Fuhrer. Fifteen days later the Sudetenland was handed over to Hitler. In exchange, Hitler gives his word that he has no other territorial designs on Europe.

October 1, 1938: Before the year ended, Hitler broke his agreement and occupied the remainder of Czechoslovakia. The following year Hitler invaded Poland. He continued to invade most of Europe, Africa, Russia and even bombed Chamberlain's very own Britain. Needless to say, the duped Chamberlain was replaced rather quickly by Winston Churchill. The Brits had THEIR fill of "Land for Peace!"

It would seem that the half-witted, idealist Jews of Peace Now have never heard of Neville Chamberlain, Adolph Hitler... maybe not even of World War II. They are asking Israel to simply hand over land (for peace) to those very enemies who have, since the day Israel came into existence, used that land as invasion routes into Israel. To simply hand over that land would be a treasonous and contemptible obscenity toward all those valiant men and women of the Israeli Defense Forces who fought and died securing it! There are enough Jew-haters in the world who wish to see the destruction of Israel and the outright slaughter of every Jewish man, woman and child. It is not necessary for self-hating, back-stabbing, low-life Jews to lend them a hand.

Famous Last Words...
"If Only Hitler Hadn't Lied"
~Neville Chamberlain~

Peace Now?

Job Opportunities Available Immediately For Psychological Profilers of Those Peaceniks Who Want to Negotiate With Terrorists!

Land For [Rest in] Peace

On October 21, 1985, former Peace Now member, Ron Levi [at left], was strolling through a forest near Jerusalem when he was shot through the head by an Arab... a bit of reality FINALLY piercing his thick Jewish skull. Poor Ron! He "felt their pain," alright... though not his own for he didn't even know what hit him! Yes, indeed! He felt the pain of those who dreamed of the day when every Jew in THEIR "Palestine" would be driven out or murdered just as he was. Because Ron would never stoop to their level, he now finds himself six feet BELOW their level and resting in "Peace Now." When will Ron and others like him ever learn!

No Pride - No Shame - NO MEMORY!

Peaceful Co-Existence?

Peaceful Co-existence.... All the Leftist Dreamers talk about is Peaceful Co-existence. And when asked for examples of Peaceful Co-existence between Palestinians and others.... well, we're all still waiting! Moslems and Arabs have shown time and time again that they are incapable (I repeat, INCAPABLE) of living in peace with anyone in the Middle East.

The PLO tried Peaceful Co-existence in Jordan but the diminutive King Hussein of Jordan realized they were not looking for Peaceful Co-existence at all but rather a violent takeover of his make-believe kingdom. So in September 1970 (so-called "Black September"), the little king did the right thing. He kicked their sorry arses out of Jordan. Oh, the poor displaced Palestinians!

So the PLO went into Lebanon for some more Peaceful Co-existence. Within a short period of time they instigated a 15 year civil war against the Lebanese Christians. After all, why should the Palestinian Moslems be subjected to the humiliation of having to "share" power when they preferred FULL power. So the PLO and Lebanese Moslems joined forces against Lebanese Christians! If THIS is what Arabs do to each other, one can imagine what they'd do to the Jews of Israel!

Peace Now [an off-shoot of Peace Instantly] says that if only the poor Palestinians (represented by the PLO murderers) were given the West Bank, Gaza and half of Jerusalem, there would surely be Peaceful Co-existence. It's just too bad thatNot all Jews are Smart! apparently no one has told Peace Now that the PLO was created in 1964... 3 years before ( I repeat, BEFORE ) the Arabs world would even lose control of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War (which THEY started)! In other words, the PLO was created to get back the land which they already had??? What silly logic... logic only some self-hating, dreamy-eyed, sniveling, hand-wringing, bone-headed Leftist Liberal egghead could come up with! I think it's about time someone informed the world that not all Jews are smart!

Self-hating Jewish Leftist Groups like Peace Now support the enemies of the Jewish People because THEY TOO are enemies of the Jewish People!

If There's TOO MUCH Land for Peace... There Won't Even Be Enough Room to Give Israel a Decent Burial!

The Oslo Accords were nothing more than WAR against Israel by another means!

Israel had better bury the peace process before the peace process buries Israel!

For over 50 years Israel has tried to live peacefully with the Arab world. For those same 50 years the Arab world has never stopped trying to destroy Israel. This never-ending struggle has eroded the determination of many Jews to continue the battle. It pushes tired men to seek half-baked solutions and foolhardy compromises that are the product of the desire to rest rather that of common sense! Thus, Israel must be prepared to fight another 50 Years!

The year 2000 began with the removal of the psychedelic dreamer, Ehud Barak, and the election of Ariel Sharon. The election of this right wing former general was no fluke. Even stupid, myopic left wingers can see when the coffin lid is being nailed down on them. Ariel Sharon was elected for precisely the OPPOSITE reason that Barak was. Barak was elected to "Give Peace a Chance"... Sharon to "Give Survival a Chance!"

There is only one way that Sharon can restore Israeli military deterrence after a decade of cowardice, appeasement, and self-debasement... and that is to USE the military. Since 1992 Israeli governments have given the Arabs every reason to believe that Israel has lost its will to survive and is perfectly willing to commit national suicide. No amount of talk and gestures now will repair this. Only massive military action will work... NOT a few "symbolic" assassinations and missile strikes on empty buildings! The Oslo Peace Accords and the notion of peace with those sworn to murder you are non-starters. It's time to turn the Palestinians into charcoal.

Fifty-nine percent of Palestinians believe that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad should continue their armed struggle [terrorism] against Israel even if Israel leaves all of the West Bank and Gaza, including East Jerusalem, and a Palestinian state is created, an Oct. 22, 2003 survey shows.



UPDATE: Be prepared for the United States to some day put Israel on the chopping block in order to secure "favors" from the Arab world, it's already started with Barrack Hussein Obama!

There are double factors at work here:
(1) American thirst for Arab oil and other global concerns and...
(2) the traditional Jew-hatred of the State Department that has driven foreign policy from one administration to another. Such appeasement didn't work for Hitler in the case of Czechoslovakia in 1938 and it will NEVER work if Israel is sacrifice to the Arab-Muslim Nazis now. Even Israel's Leftist dreamers will squirm when they feel the knife at their throats!



Masada 2000

Moshe Dayan - What In the World Were You Thinking?

It really DOES take a Jewish brain to come up with THIS brilliant idea. First you must defend your Nation against an attack by the combined armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. After scoring a stunning victory and FINALLY regaining control of the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and its Western (Wailing) Wall... not to mention East Jerusalem, ALL of Judea/Samaria (the so-called "West Bank")... you laid the foundation for a monstrous betrayal of the Jewish People. The defeated Palestinian Arabs were all set to move out across the Jordan River into the make-believe Arab Palestinian country, Jordan. So what did you do? To prove to the world that Jews are a "Light Unto All Nations," you told the fleeing Arabs to stay put! This was the beginning of a humiliating Jewish policy that stunned no one more than the Moslems who could not believe such a manifestation of Jewish madness they had just witnessed! The defeated Arabs correctly understood Jewish concessions not to be a sign of goodness and grace, but of timidity and weakness! Most Arabs thought it was some incredible ploy for if THEY had defeated Israel, all Israel would have been one big pile of Jew meat. Ahhh, the Jew... always merciful, always democratic, always bent on self-destruction. Once again the Jews have proved that they themselves are their own worst enemy!

Those defeated Palestinian Arabs DID stay and, after the double shocks of losing to the infidel Jews yet being allowed to remain in the Land of Israel by those same Jews, they simply picked up where they left off and rekindled their dream of driving these Jews into the sea. Almost daily we see visions of the Jerusalem and Hebron Riots of 1920, 1929 and 1936-9. We see Israeli buses with bullet-proof glass and new roads going AROUND Israeli Arab villages. We see Israeli Arab Knesset Ministers praising Hezbullah, Hamas, al-Aqsa Brigade, Islamic Jihad and all the other Arab terrorist groups and voting for EVERYTHING that is bad for Israel's well-being! And those "grateful" Palestinian Arabs, who so appreciated your generous offer to have them stay put, cheered as Iraqi missiles sailed over them and dropped into Israel... although I imagine their excitement abated somewhat when it was learned that those missiles carried only conventional explosives! What a sight that was indeed, Moshe. The Jews huddled into bomb shelters with gas masks while the appreciative Arabs partied on their rooftops! Allah surely is Great!

Moshe, you became a hero. A hero to them, not to us! On the fourth day of the war, for twelve glorious hours, the Israeli flag waved proudly over the Temple Mount as confirmation of the miracle just experienced by the Jewish People. But you ordered the Israeli flag taken down and you simply and incredibly handed over the administration of the Temple Mount to the Arabs, with the Jews retaining only nominal sovereignty over the site. Extraordinary! In victory, we left our holiest place in the hands of our enemies!

The Temple Mount is in Jewish Hands????

Your typically arrogant Leftist approach might have worked with normal enemies but not with proud Arabs. All the stars and bars on your chest cannot compete with the flames of "liberation" in their hearts. Yes, we Jews have a right to our ancient homeland. Yes, our return and rebuilding of Israel also brought in large numbers of Arabs seeking opportunity and a higher standard of living. Yes, we tried to live peacefully along side them. Yes, we're shown the patience of Saints even after their most heinous crimes took thousands of us. But they don't care a whit about any of that. They really believe that we are thieves. They don't want to share anything. They want us out! THEY WANT US DEAD!

Given this fact, Israel had better stop appeasing this enemy. They have chosen to kill us and drive us from the Land of Israel... if not all at once, at least in stages. They won't play by our rules. It is now time to end this double suicide called "Oslo" and "Wye." It is time to retake the "West Bank" [Judea/Samaria] and retain control over all of Jerusalem. It is time to point them east toward Jordan, north toward Lebanon and Syria, south toward Egypt or straight down into the Hell from which they they came. It is time to tell the world that Jews will no longer "play fairly" with those who come to murder. If it means behaving like normal people, then so be it!



Dayan Was Not the Only Jewish Genius Who Failed to Appreciate the Intentions of His Enemy...

"Stop being afraid. There is no danger that these guns will be used against us. The purpose of this ammunition for the Palestinian police is to be used in their vigilant fight against the Hamas. They won't dream of using it against us, since they know very well that if they use these guns against us once, at that moment the Oslo Accord will be annulled and the IDF will return to all the places that have been given to them. The Oslo Accord, despite what the opposition claims, is not irrevocable." Yitzchak Rabin

"Guns Don't Kill, Only People Kill." Shimon (Shame-On) Peres on CNN when asked if he regretted arming the Arafat's "Palestinian Authority" with Israeli weapons.

Shimon Peres, the man who is more and more likely to go down in history book as as the only human in history who single-handedly destroyed his own country Lieutenant Colonel Shlomo Baum, of blessed memory, once described him... "Shimon Peres doesn't care if the entire state turns into a heap of ashes -- as long as he is standing at the top of the heap."

Masada 2000

The Hudibiyya Agreement

The desert warrior is considered shrewd to invite his enemies as honored guests for dinner only to jump across the table with scythes at the ready to slice up his guests beguiled by his charm.

Mohammed, the 7th century founder of Islam, once signed a 10-year peace treaty with the enemy Arabian tribe of Koreish. However, after only two years into the treaty, Mohammed's military position improved whereupon he tore up this "Hudibiyya" (also spelled Khudaibiya) Agreement" and slaughtered the Koreishites. The Middle East today is littered with inter-Arab peace treaties, alliances and friendship accords, not one of which has ever prevented a war! This Law of Hudibiyya dates back to Muhammad and states clearly that "Muslims are permitted to LIE [click link] and break agreements with non-Muslims." According to this precept, Arabs view an enemy’s readiness for peace as a weakness to be exploited. Violation of any signed accord they sign with infidels (or even fellow Muslims!) is "business as usual" as soon as it becomes advantageous to do so.

If Arafat, a member of the PA (Palestinian Authority), or any Arab on the street were to compare the Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestinian people to the Hudibiyya Agreement, he would be suggesting that the treaty were only a temporary truce. Not only have cabinet ministers done just that... so has the leader of the Palestinian people! Speaking to a rally of his Fatah movement in Ramallah just Yasser Arafat and his Hudibiyya Peace Treaty with Israel Means Terrorism last November 16, 1998, Yasser Arafat said, "When we chose the peace of the brave [the Oslo and Wye Accords], we chose it with trust in the Prophet who agreed to the Treaty of Hudibiyya..." On numerous previous occasions (and certainly to be continued in the future), both Arafat and other senior PA officials have assured Arab audiences that their treaties with Israel are only "temporary truces" rather than genuine, permanent peace agreements.

And so while Israeli negotiators go to great pains to dot every "i" and cross every "t" and footnote every minute detail [eg. the Camp David Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty and the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Agreement] with the expectation that the document was as meaningful to their Arab negotiators as it was to them, the Arabs knew all along that their non-compliance would be tolerated! After all, it was their tradition to say anything AND sign anything, knowing full well that, by custom, culture and habit, that they could and usually DID walk away from treaties when it suited their purposes.

This "strategy of phases" was first adopted by the PLO's National Council (Cairo, Egypt) in 1974 when it became obvious that an outright military defeat of Israel was unlikely. A policy of destruction of Israel in phases was approved by first establishing a small PLO state and then later completing the total destruction of Israel. This goal may be soon realized as Israel prepares to withdraw from portions of its ancient homeland in the name of "peace."

The Jewish people have experienced 2,000 years of expulsions, massacres, pogroms and deceptions. Their tiny reborn Jewish State has, in its 55+ years of existence, experienced seven wars with the Arabs and continuous terrorism by numerous Palestinian groups, including its peace partner... the PLO! And now Israel is officially begun arranging the terms of its own suicide in the Oslo Accords, Wye Agreement, various Camp David "weekend" retreats and now the so-called Geneva Initiative... with more holes in it than Swiss cheese!

H-E-L-L-o-o-o-o-o... Wake up, Jews! Wake up Israel! Have you still not learned your lessons or will you continue to sit back in the name of "peace," light more candles and await new Holocaust memorials!

Is This What Peace is All About?

The Israelis and Arab "Palestinians" signed the Oslo Peace Accords in September of 1993. All statements by the Palestinian leadership with regards to the destruction of the State of Israel prior to that time were to be disregarded now that they had signed on to what Arafat himself described as the "peace of the brave." So what is one to make of the following statements issued well after 1993!

Jordanian Television (September 13, 1995) "Since we cannot defeat Israel in war we do this in stages. We take any and every territory that we can of Palestine, and establish sovereignty there, and we use it as a springboard to take more. When the time comes, we can get the Arab nations to join us for the final blow against Israel." ~Yasser Arafat~

Stockholm, Sweden (Jan 30, 1996)
"We Palestinians will take over everything, including all of Jerusalem. Peres and Beilin have already promised us half of Jerusalem. The Golan Heights have already been given away, subject to just a few details. We will take over everything including all of Jerusalem! We of the P.L.O. will now concentrate all our efforts on splitting Israel psychologically into two camps. ~Yasser Arafat~

Egyptian Magazine (May 2001)
Our agreements with the Israelis are like the Trojan horse. I explain to our people that this is the only way to get into the walls of Jerusalem, like the wooden horse the Greeks used against the Trojans." ~Faisal Husseini, Arafat's representative in Jerusalem~

Palestinian Television Jan. 11, 2001)
"We are discussing the current problems and when we speak about Jerusalem it doesn't mean that we have forgotten about Hebron or about Jaffa or about Acre..we are speaking about the current problems that have priority at a certain time. It doesn't mean that we have given up... We have announced a number of times that from a religious point of view Palestine from the sea to the river is Islamic." [Note: Jaffa and Acre are Israeli cities.] ~Sheikh Ikrima Sabri - The Palestinian Authority appointed Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine~

Palestinian Television Sept. 1, 2000)
"We exaggerate when we say 'peace'... what we are speaking about is 'Hudna', a temporary ceasefire. ~Arab "Palestinian" Knesset Member Abdel Maleh~



Masada 2000

The Arab-Israeli Conflict, Part II: Why the Middle East is on a Path to War

The previous post in the series demonstrated how instead of trying to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, and address the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people, Arab leaders have been focused on one goal: the destruction of the Jewish State.

It showed how the demand for the “Right of Return” of Palestinian refugees into Israel is an Arab attempt to distort history, and unjustly shift the entire responsibility for the Arab-Israeli conflict to Israel. It also showed how the Arab demand for a “Right of Return” for Palestinian refugees into Israel is synonymous with the destruction of the Jewish State.

And it concluded that according to Arab leaders, the only “just resolution” to the Arab-Israeli conflict that would bring “peace” to the region would be the destruction of the Jewish State. Thus, for Arab leaders “peace” negotiations with Israel are merely the continuation of war by other means.

Certainly, Arab leaders in distant capitals – untroubled by the daily hardships of Palestinians under occupation – may adopt extreme views for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (ie. the destruction of Israel). But what about Palestinian leaders?

Palestinian leaders are more attuned with the reality on the ground. Shouldn’t they be more willing to reconcile their differences with Israel for the sake of national independence and peace? Can there still be hope for an Israeli-Palestinian peace?

Unfortunately, reality proves otherwise.

Since 1967, the basis for Arab-Israeli negotiations has been UN Security Council Resolution 242, which calls for the implementation of the “land for peace” formula – calling for Israeli withdrawal from territories it had occupied in 1967 in exchange for peace with its neighbors.

For 20 years, the Palestinian leadership has managed to delude much of the Western world into thinking that its objective is to establish a Palestinian state and bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In reality, the objective of the Palestinians has been the destruction of the Jewish State; establishing a Palestinian state is merely a means to continue the conflict – not end it!

What evidence is there that this is indeed the case? “Moderate” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas himself demonstrated that this is the case.

In his May 2011 Op-Ed in the New York Times, Palestinian President Abbas tried to justify his decision to bypass negotiations with Israel, and ask for recognition of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders from the United Nations this coming September.

Instead of negotiating with Israel for an Israeli withdrawal from territories it had occupied in 1967 in exchange for peace, Abbas wants to coerce Israel to withdraw from territories in exchange for the continuation of conflict.

One of the steps that needs to be taken to achieve peace is reconciliation of grievances. But instead of trying to reconcile grievances with Israel, Abbas unjustly shifts the entire responsibility for the conflict to Israel. He writes:

“It is important to note that the last time the question of Palestinian statehood took center stage at the General Assembly, the question posed to the international community was whether our homeland should be partitioned into two states. In November 1947, the General Assembly made its recommendation and answered in the affirmative. Shortly thereafter, Zionist forces expelled Palestinian Arabs to ensure a decisive Jewish majority in the future state of Israel, and Arab armies intervened. War and further expulsions ensued… …Minutes after the State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, the United States granted it recognition. Our Palestinian state, however, remains a promise unfulfilled.”

Here President Abbas rewrites history in an attempt to justify the fraudulent Arab demand for a “Right of Return.”

Unlike Abbas’ claims a Palestinian state was not a “promise unfulfilled” by the international community – it was a plan rejected by Palestinian and Arab leaders.

And unlike what Abbas implies, the ensuing conflict was not instigated by “Zionist forces” – it was the direct result of Arab attacks on Jewish communities. The violence that broke out throughout Palestine became more and more prevalent until it escalated into a civil war. The Zionist counter-attacks and offensives precipitated a mass departure of hundreds of thousands of Arabs.

Hours after Israel declared independence the armies of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Jordan, backed by Saudi Arabian and Yemenite contingents, invaded Israel. The Arab League Secretary, Azzam Pasha, declared: “This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.” In response, the Israeli army launched a series of offensives into areas allocated to the proposed Arab state.

During the 1948 war, between 650,000 and 730,000 Palestinian Arabs were expelled or fled from the area that became Israel, and became refugees. On the other hand, around 10,000 Jews were forced to leave their homes in Palestine. By the end of the war territory under Israeli control encompassed approximately three-quarters of Mandate Palestine. The West Bank and Gaza Strip were under Jordanian and Egyptian occupation.

The Palestinian leader tries to portray the Arab side as victims of Zionist aggression. But in reality, Palestinian leaders and Arab states bear much of the responsibility for the 1948 war, and for the predicament of the Palestinian people.

Abbas’ unwillingness to acknowledge any Arab responsibility for the conflict indicates that he’s not interested in reconciling grievances with Israel, or ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abbas writes:

“Once admitted to the United Nations, our state stands ready to negotiate all core issues of the conflict with Israel.”

What are the core issues of the conflict Palestinian are concerned about? The issues to be negotiated in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process are:

- Borders of future Palestinian state
- Israeli settlements in the West Bank
- Status of Jerusalem
- “Right of return” of Palestinian refugees

If a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders is admitted to the UN by bypassing negotiations the first three issues become irrelevant, since they are no longer subject for negotiations. Thus, the only issue for “negotiation” would be the “Right of return” (which is synonymous with the “right” to destroy the Jewish State). Abbas continues:

“Only if the international community keeps the promise it made to us six decades ago, and ensures that a just resolution for Palestinian refugees is put into effect, can there be a future of hope and dignity for our people.”

In other words, according to “moderate” President Abbas, there can only be “a future of hope and dignity” for the Palestinian people if the Jewish State is destroyed.

Of course, there is one flaw in the Palestinian scheme to evade peace negotiations; the UN General Assembly can vote to admit a state as a full member only if it receives a recommendation to do so from the UN Security Council. The United States is expected to veto such recommendation in the UN Security Council since it undermines the negotiation process. In that case, a vote in the UN General Assembly would be meaningless.

Meaningless, but not entirely futile; the US veto would likely stir anti-American hostility in the Arab street, while the automatic majority Palestinians receive in the UN General Assembly will likely provoke Arab violence throughout the Palestinian territories and in Israel.

Is the Middle East on a Path to War?

But is there any way to interpret Abbas’ position that would give hope for the peace process? Or is the Middle East on a sure path to war?

In August 2009, the Fatah Conference – President Mahmoud Abbas’ faction – convened for the first time in 20 years. The congress adopted a resolution that all of Jerusalem be returned to the Palestinians and asserted the right of Palestinian refugees to return to homes left before the 1948 war over Israel’s independence. In addition, a Fatah policy statement issued during the conference reserved the right to exercise “resistance” in “all its forms” if future peace negotiations were not successful.”

In other words, Fatah reserves the right to exercise “resistance” in “all its forms” (ie. terrorism) if negotiations with Israel are “not successful.” Yet, according to Fatah, one of the goals of these negotiations is the return of Palestinian refugees into Israel (ie. the destruction of the Jewish state). Since such negotiations are guaranteed to be “not successful” the sure result would be another outbreak of war.

Why then did the Palestinian leaders decide to abandon peace negotiations with Israel and go to the United Nations? Perhaps because they realized that to achieve an independent Palestinian state they would have to compromise on their goal to destroy the Jewish state.

Palestinians Prefer Destruction of Israel over Peace and End of Occupation

In a 2010 poll of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, Palestinians living in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza were asked the following questions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations:

Do you think that the Palestinians must renounce their right of home return, which Israel will never accept, in exchange for having an independent Palestinian state and the conclusion of a peace deal with Israel?

1. Yes, the Palestinians must do that: 14.0%
2. No, they shouldn’t do that even if the price would be the non-conclusion of a peace deal with Israel: 81.7%
3. I have no opinion: 4.3%

If the Palestinian leadership would waive the right of home return in exchange for a financial compensation, would you accept or refuse that?

1. I would accept that: 13.1%
2. I would refuse that: 81.8%
3. Don’t know: 5.1%

For years we’ve been told that the reason for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is Israeli occupation. We’ve been told that the reason for Palestinian violence and terrorism is that Palestinians are desperate, that they have nothing to lose.

Now it turns out that the vast majority of Palestinians – over 80 percent – prefer not to end the occupation, not to achieve national independence, and not to have peace, if the price they have to pay is the continued existence of the Jewish state.

By going to the United Nations Palestinian leaders are trying to avoid making that choice. They want to have a Palestinian state and continue the conflict with Israel, until the destruction of the Jewish state.

On the other hand, what would happen if Palestinian leaders return to negotiations? If they reach a peace deal with Israel that gives Palestinians almost the entire West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, removes most Israeli settlements (except for the large settlement blocks that take about 1.5% of the West Bank), and generously compensates Palestinian refugees?

First, that already happened – in the 2000 Camp David Summit! The result was that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat rejected the Israeli offer and did not propose any counter-offer. Two months later the Second Intifada broke out and claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis.

Second, any peace deal Palestinian leaders sign with Israel must be approved by a Palestinian referendum. The vast majority of Palestinians (over 80%) will reject any deal that does not include the “right of return” of millions of Palestinian refugees into Israel – something Israel will never agree to.

Thus, for both Palestinian and Arab leaders “peace” negotiations with Israel are merely the continuation of war by other means.

Both Palestinian leaders and the vast majority of the Palestinian public prefer to continue the conflict and to destroy the Jewish state, over achieving an end to the occupation, national independence, and peace.

Given the reality of Arab and Palestinian attitude toward Israel, the Middle East is unfortunately on a path to another war.

How then can the next outbreak of violence be prevented? Only if Arab and Palestinian leaders genuinely decide to end their hostility toward Israel, recognize the right of the Jewish state to exist, and address the legitimate grievances of both sides in the conflict.

Until then, it seems that Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s famous quote from 1957 is as true now as it was then:

“Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

The next post in the series will explain why there is such deep Arab hatred toward the Jewish state, and if it is justified.

Reading Continued Below:

The Arab-Israeli Conflict, Part I: Why Peace is Impossible

The Arab-Israeli Conflict, Part III: The Core of the Conflict



Geo Politics

Middle East Conflict isn’t Territorial

Deputy PM Ya'alon says Israel must be recognized as Jewish state for peace to prevail

Moshe (Bogi) Ya'alon

The key sentence in the prime minister's speech before Congress made it clear that the main reason for the failure of all attempts to secure Israel-Palestinian peace is the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish State; that is, to recognize the Jewish people's right to maintain a Jewish nation-state, the State of Israel, on the land of its forefathers.

Israel's Palestinian dialogue partner in peace talks is the PLO; all members of this umbrella organization, including Fatah, reject Israel's right to exist, while accepting it (because of the IDF's military power) on the condition that it would be an entity that lacks an ethnic identity – that is, that it will not be the Jewish people's nation-state.

The Palestinians always stress that they are in favor of the "two-state" solution, rather than a solution based on "two states for two peoples." According to Palestinian leader Abbas, the Jews are not entitled to a state. He rejects a connection between the Jews, as a religion, and the Land of Israel, even though he admits to a Jewish presence in Eretz Yisrael in the distant past, as the Koran often refers to it. Indeed, Abbas defines Jewishness as a religion, rather than a nationality.

Ever since the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians have resorted to a series of verbal maneuvers in order to reject Israel's identity as the Jewish people's nation-state, and they have never renounced the return of refugees. This approach is not only espoused by some sly statesmen. It is the main message conveyed to the Palestinian public in general and Palestinian youth in particular, via the media, textbooks, constitutive documents of political organizations, religious authorities and cultural work.

Palestinian maps make no mention of Israel, and the PMW website, which monitors the Palestinian media, shows us the Palestinian leadership, headed by Abbas, beaming while a talented singer promises that Haifa and other areas within Israel will again be part of Palestine. Moreover, Palestinian children are being educated from young age to hate Israel and adore suicide bombers. This is not the way to make true peace. This is not how one prepares for coexistence.

Rockets in response to concessions

Promoting an atmosphere that encourages violence and terror, combined with incitement for hatred of Israel and the Jews, is the reason for the ongoing suffering of the Palestinians rather than the steps adopted by Israel to defend itself in the face of this incitement. An Israeli concession on this matter will prompt the establishment of a hostile (and apparently failed) state near our population centers.

The heart of the conflict with the Palestinians is existential and not just territorial, as proven by Nakba Day events and as the prime minister made clear in his speech. As far as the Palestinians are concerned, the occupation started in 1948 and not in 1967. Hence, Palestinian recognition of Israel as the Jewish people's nation-state is a required condition for viable peace with the Palestinians, although it is not a condition for entering negotiations.

Imparting this realization to the Palestinian public is a condition for implementing a peace deal and will require significant time. We should not delude ourselves and cultivate false hopes.

Past experience taught us that for any territory we gave up in order to move closer to the peace we seek, we got terror and rockets rather than peace. I'm glad to see that more and more Israelis are aware of this danger, and the more united Israel is on this front vis-à-vis the Palestinians and the international system, the higher our chances will be of prompting the Palestinians and the world to address the issue, and as result to secure stable, agreed-upon peace that will meet the national demands of both peoples.

The writer is Israel's deputy prime minister and minister for strategic affairs