Dr. Eldad first sought to define the nature of the conflict between Israel and her Arab/Muslim neighbors. One approach, which has since been abandoned, is that the conflict is territorial in nature. But if this were so, the conflict could have been solved long ago. In fact, we have several examples from history when this approach was promoted but failed, including the White Paper, the Peel Report and the UN Partition Plan of Nov. 29, 1947, which was rejected by the Arabs.
The possibility that the conflict is based on religion was also raised by Dr. Eldad. If this were indeed the case, there would be no solution, but it is only partly true. In effect, the conflict is based on a struggle for regional dominance, with the political elite in Muslim and Arab states using religion to motivate the masses.
Dr. Eldad pointed out that both Sunni and Shi’ite movements have a conflict with Israel but that several Muslim states, both Sunni and Shi’ite, have recently made significant moves toward Israel, which they see as a very significant ally in their greater conflict with Iran.
All of this focuses on the Muslim/Arab side. What about Israel’s part?
Unfortunately, according to Dr. Eldad, we missed a rare opportunity to declare sovereignty because Netanyahu’s style of leadership is pragmatic, not ideological. Dr. Eldad believes that Netanyahu does not essentially object to the idea of a Palestinian state.
One possible solution
One issue that always arises in the discussion of sovereignty is the status of the Arabs of Judea and Samaria under Israeli sovereignty. Dr. Eldad refers to the proposal made by himself and Rav Benny Alon to give the Arabs Israeli residency and Jordanian citizenship.