Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Two-State Solution?

These thoughts were prompted by an online discussion about the so-called "two-state" solution which took place within a committee working to support Israel in its quest for peace.



It's not up to Israel (or the United States) to determine the way the Palestinian Arabs govern whatever territory is eventually given to them, as long as the stop murdering Israelis, stop threatening to continue to murder Israelis and stop trying to destroy Israel.

I think the Israeli government would be well served to include this in its negotiating position, which should really just involve the division between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs of the disputed territories and the relationship between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.

When people talk of a two-state solution, they are really talking about a three-state solution; they generally ignore the existing Arab state of Jordan, which already controls about 78 percent of Palestine. (Ignoring Jordan is a terrific propaganda strategy for the Arabs, since they are then able to fool people into thinking Israel had most of Palestine even prior to 1967.)

The events since Israel pulled out of Gaza should have made it clear to people that a single Palestinian Arab country in the West Bank and Gaza is probably not feasible, with the geographic separation being only a minor part of the problem. (As an aside, nobody seems to pay attention to the fact that a "contiguous Palestinian Arab state" is incompatible with a contiguous state of Israel unless Egypt and Jordan both give up territory to form a connection between Gaza and the West Bank without cutting Israel in two.)

I think if a two-state (really a three-state) solution is ever agreed upon and implemented, it won't last very long, with those living in the West Bank realizing they'd be better off if they were incorporated into Jordan and those living in Gaza realizing they'd be better off if they were incorporated into Egypt. (Of course, they'd have to completely change their society if they wanted to convince Egypt to take them in.)

Presently, we really have a four-state non-solution, since despite their non-recognition by most of the civilized world, for most practical purposes the territory ruled by the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria is already a state, as is the Islamic State Hamastan. They are rogue, terrorist states, but de facto states nonetheless.

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