What is the Formula for Peace?
Israel has achieved peace with 6 former enemy states – Egypt, Jordan and the 4 Arab countries through the Abraham Accords. So what is the difference between these successful peace deals, and the inability to achieve the same between Israel and the Palestinians?
The difference is clear. Each of the successful peace deals involved three primary factors: Recognizing Israel’s right to exist, recognizing that the Jewish people are native to this land and a commitment to never threaten Israel’s security. By doing these three simple things, negotiations could actually take place, and peace deals were signed.
Palestinian leaders refuse to accept Israel’s right to exist, insist that the Jewish people are colonizers in the land, and continue to threaten Israel through vile acts of terror. Currently, it’s not possible for negotiations towards a long term peace deal to even take place.
How much worse do things have to become? How much more suffering does there need to be? Peace will never just occur out of nowhere. Peace requires a formula. When will there be Palestinian leaders who understand this formula?