Peace – at what cost?

Giving land to the Palestinians does not bring peace, as we learned from the Gaza Strip. Israelis were pulled out of Gaza by force, even requiring the Israeli army to act against its own people. Ariel Sharon, then P.M. of Israel, gave the orders to remove the settlers who lived there for more than 30 years.

In return, the Arabs (Palestinians) have used hundreds of rockets to attack Israel’s civilian population. To all those who advocate so drastically for two-state solution, you likely have no idea what it is to live in a tiny patch of land with a built-in group of the population who is sworn to the destruction of Israel.

The two-state solution will be a good move if and when the Arabs decide that they had enough of the “military” (terror) solution. As long as Iran is calling the shots for Hamas and the other terror groups to confront Israel and pumping arms and money to back it up, there is little chance for peace.

On the other hand, Israel must also change its approach towards the Palestinians. A hawkish resolution to all aspects of its relations towards Palestinians is perhaps a non-starter for any reasonable dialogue. The declarations from the new far right government of using a fist in dealing with the West Bank is likely the wrong path for this government to make any progress. The cycle of violence will not subside, as the Israelis cannot stop a lone suicide attacker anywhere in the country. Instead, it will continue to be “an eye for an eye” confrontation which does not benefit anyone. A cooling-off period would go a long way towards a more calm future.