by Prof. Ron Breiman
The events that took place over the past week -- and especially the renewed alliance between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas -- should make us rethink the underlying assumptions that have guided Israel's conduct; it is time to wake up to the sobering reality. The "peace process" was premised on the notion that there are "good" terrorists that could be engaged, and "bad" terrorists that had no place around the negotiating table. That myth was debunked once and for all last week.
The blood bond between the leader of the "good" terrorists from Ramallah and the leader of the "bad" terrorists from Gaza once again proves that they both share the same goal: destroying the State of Israel, not just expelling the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria. They differ only in style. Whereas Hamas has made its objectives painfully clear, Abbas has assumed a deceptive posture that has won him many supporters in the enlightened world, including the Obama-Kerry duo and radical Israeli lefties. These pro-Abbasites won't let the facts get in the way; it won't be long before they ask us to bury our heads in the sand and continue the "peace process."
The new reality requires each player to rethink their strategy. The Americans should stop banging their heads (and our heads) against the wall in search of the right formula for peace. They should also shed the false premise that has guided their Middle East policy and address other foreign policy challenges (Ukraine, for example). The Arab world has already begun to focus on the Abbas/Hamas twins, analyzing their points of agreement and disagreement. Israel should not pick a favorite; both are our enemy.
Israel is now presented with a golden opportunity to unshackle itself from the false notion that a two-state solution can be implemented west of the Jordan River. This concept was doomed from the start. Israel, like the Arabs, should take care of its own interests by making aliyah (immigration to Israel) its top concern. With anti-Semitism on the rise, Israel should focus on its Zionist raison d'etre: the ingathering of the exiles in the land of the Jewish people. Whatever it does, Israel must make it clear that it will not uproot Jews from their homes.
Israel has already agreed to a far-reaching territorial compromise when it signed the peace treaty with Jordan. Israel must now sit back and wait until the Palestinian majority in Jordan decides to exercise its rights.
The difference between Israeli Arabs and the Arabs of Judea and Samaria is artificial: the former group has lived under the auspices of the Jewish state longer. A period of nineteen years -- the interlude between the War of Independence and the Six-Day War -- is all that separates them. That period represents just one half of one percent of the time encapsulated by the history of the Jewish people. By asking for the release of Israeli-Arab prisoners, Abbas cast himself as the leader of all the Arabs in the Land of Israel, both within the Green Line and beyond. The Israeli-Arab journalist who was recently dispatched to Beirut with documents from Ramallah underscored this.
On the same token, the Jewish people have been arbitrarily divided into two sets of people. The first, which lies east of the Green Line, has temporary residence in Judea and Samaria. Their human and property rights are compromised and regularly infringed upon. It has become commonly accepted that they could -- and should -- be forcefully evicted from their homes and be approached with racist baits so that they willingly relocate in exchange for monetary compensation.
The second, which lives west of the Green Line, enjoys permanent status, knowing that its property and homes will not be taken away. Anyone who is concocting "peace" plans based on this arbitrary distinction is not a peace-loving individual, nor is he or she a true champion of human rights.
Israel would be well-served by leaving "the valley of Achor for a door of hope" (Hosea 2:17); Israel must make lemonade out of the lemons of the peace talks. The "peace" trend has run its course. There is no point in dancing around this modern-day golden calf chanting "This is thy god, O Israel" (Exodus 32:8).
Prof. Ron Breiman is the former chairman of Professors for a Strong Israel.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=8195
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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