Unconventional thoughts – on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations

In the late 1970^th and early 1980^th, Israel missed the opportunity to enact a One-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation the Palestinian Arabs might agree with. These days, Israel may have no other choice but to enact a One-State solution nobody would agree with.

I have been frequently visiting Israel to be “irradiated” by the history and spirituality of the Holy Land. In early 1980^th I was able to travel freely everywhere in Judea and Samaria, now the land of Palestinian Authority, with no fear of being harmed. The Palestinian Arabs were relatively friendly and it looked like they were ready for peaceful coexistence with the Jews in Israel – not that they wanted it but because they didn’t see any other option. It was possible, at that time Israelis could establish the secularized-Torah-guided Jewish state in the Promised Land with the Arab residents of the Land following the Jewish-State Laws outside their families and communities.

However, Israel was not ready to enact One-State solution with all Palestinian Arabs included in the Jewish state since the hope that the Palestinian Arabs may become citizens of other Arab countries still existed. This hope was based on the unquestionable military victories of Israel over all Arab adversaries.

Indeed beginning at the very day of establishing the State of Israel, the Arabs tried unsuccessfully to eliminate the State of Israel in many wars: War for Israeli independence, 1947-1949; Suez crisis, 1956; Six-Day War, 1967; Yom Kippur War, 1973.

By the late 1970^th and early 1980^th, the Arabs realized they cannot defeat Israel in open military confrontation. Therefore the terrorist actions by Intifada, Hamas and Hezbollah, aimed at frightening Israelis and forcing them to leave the country, substituted the open-war confrontation. Yasser Arafat became the terrorist commander-in-chief.

By the early 1990^th, the Arabs found out that the terror didn’t intimidate Israelis – the long history of the Jews made them immune to annihilation threats. Then, the step-by-step increasing international diplomatic pressure was added to the annihilation tools: Oslo Accords, 1993; Wye Accords, 1998; Camp David, 2000.

Palestinian Arabs with the support of the entire Arab and Muslim world demanded “the statehood and the right to self-determination” – but not to live in peace with Israelis but rather to obtain new annihilation tools.

Israel used the Oslo accord to put forward various proposals to establish a relatively independent Palestinian state with all necessary security provisions which would make the fulfilment of the Arab goal of eliminating the Jewish State of Israel practically impossible.

The Arabs used the Oslo accord to facilitate EU/USA diplomatic and economic pressure on Israel to get rid of all Israeli’s security provisions which are making the Arab’s goal of eliminating the Jewish State of Israel practically impossible.

In the year 2014 it became evident the Israelis were losing and the Arabs were winning. The Israelis were not able to effectively manage the increased pressure of its Arab adversaries and European “friends”; the Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran threat was not diminishing. The Arabs were winning in international recognition of their proposals for a fully independent Palestinian state capable of challenging the security of Israel.

That means that over five decades of Israel’s waiting for better conditions for the final Israeli-Palestinian accord has brought worse conditions. Now Israel has to do whatever is necessary to reverse the situation. 

It looks like Israel has to declare all parts of Judea and Samaria which are crucial for the security of Israel the Israel territory and provide Israeli citizenship for all Arab residents who agree to live under the laws of the State of Israel, knowing that nobody would agree with such solution. If something like that is not done, the fully independent Palestinian state will be created which soon will become – with the help of Muslim countries and many in EU – a mortal threat to the State of Israel and to the Jews.