As though nothing has happened, international pressure for the establishment of a Palestinian state in Israel’s heartland continues, contrary to the position of the absolute majority of Israeli citizens. The Israeli government must provide a clear and practical response.
Despite everything that we underwent on the morning of Simchat Torah October 7th, and everything that we have been undergoing since then, despite the brutal acts by Arab terrorists of slaughter and massacre of our people, despite the hostages still being held in Hamas captivity, despite the ongoing war with the self-sacrifice of our finest children; despite all this, in broad daylight, elements from within and without continue to plan on our behalf the partition of the land and the insane idea that endangers Israel's future, the idea of establishment of a Palestinian state in its heartland.
The United States, the European countries, and the Arab states from without, and the left from within, see as their objective reaching a deal whose ultimate purpose is what they claim to be the end of the Israeli-Arab conflict, a deal that has been the hope of the Americans since the Six Day War.
Now, this dangerous, irresponsible aspiration joins the burning political need of an American president to garner votes that will rescue him from his downfall during the election year that has just begun. The Democratic Party needs the Arab vote and the offering being sacrificed is once again the same offering, the State of Israel and its future.
The details of the deal are not yet known, but the rumors and snippets of reports that have already been publicized are sufficient to understand that the reference is to a plan whose end result is the mass release of Arab terrorists, including murderers with Jewish blood on their hands, cessation of the fighting, restoring the reins of leadership in Gaza to the hands of the “renewed" Palestinian Authority in preparation for the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip, return of the hostages, and, in the future, normalization with Saudi Arabia and perhaps, other Arab states.
In his January 31, 2024 report, the journalist, Barak Ravid, revealed that “the United States State Department is considering recognition of a Palestinian state as part of an initiative for the day after the war in Gaza. Senior American officials said that Blinken instructed the United States State Department to present him with possibilities for American or international recognition of a Palestinian state and also to submit recommendations regarding the way a demilitarized Palestinian state would appear. Part of the Biden administration now believes that recognition of a Palestinian state must be the first step in negotiations to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rather than the last...”
On the same day, Reuters reporters Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk also published a report that was essentially similar: “State Dept says US actively pursuing the creation of a Palestinian state. The United States is actively pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state….Matthew Miller declined to give details on the department's internal work on the issue, but told a news briefing the effort has been an objective of President Joe Biden's administration.
NBC on February 4th : The Biden administration is drawing up internal policy options on officially recognizing a Palestinian state after Israel's war in Gaza, a senior administration official told NBC News.
An absolute majority of the Israeli public knows full well that the idea that if only a Palestinian state would be established and we would disengage from the Arabs, peace will come upon Israel is nothing but a farce and a delusion. The Arab enemy takes an oath of allegiance to its commitment to continue the war against the people of Israel until it evacuates and disappears from the entire Land of Israel. As long as Jaffa, Haifa, and Acre are not Arab and clean of Jews, the Arab war against the Jewish state will continue. In the charters of Fatah and Hamas these matters are written explicitly and the leaders of the organization openly and incessantly proclaim this. The only difference between the organizations is whether the way to achieve this objective is by means of a staged “salami” process or by means of one significant course of action.
The inclination of many Israelis, even those in leadership, to agree to concessions and withdrawals is interpreted in the Western world as evidence of the weakness of our claim to rights over the Land. In the Arab world, it is interpreted as evidence that exercising additional force against Israel will yield the desired result from their perspective, the expulsion of Israel from the historical cradle of its birth, on the way to its total destruction.
Conversely, when Israel demonstrated its strength, it garnered respect, bordering on reverence, throughout the world. This was the case after the Six Day War as well as after specific events like Operation Entebbe and the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor.
Israel’s immense, unprecedented humanitarian aid for the enemy, in the clear knowledge that more than half of it is transferred into the hands of the enemy’s armed forces, despite the fact that Israel has not yet received a sliver of information about its hostages, sends a clear and unambiguous message of Israeli disintegration, fragility, and inability to withstand the pressure. The understanding in the Arab world is that it is confronting a weak, frightened entity that s easily pressured, which will sacrifice its future for temporary and limited peace.
The primary source of pressure on Israel is actually its ally, the United States of America. The administration repeatedly claims that this will be a new Palestinian authority, different, and especially, demilitarized, one that will not pose a security threat to the existence of Israel. But beyond the security issue, to which there would also be no recourse if, G-d forbid, a state of that kind were to arise, there is a much more profound and significant issue, and that is the justice of our claim to the right to settle our land.
A Palestinian state will not only pose a security threat to the Zionist enterprise (after the establishment of such a state G-d forbid, it is independent to act as it pleases and no one will be able to obligate it to remain demilitarized as the Americans hope. Additionally, it is worth remembering that even Gaza was characterized as “demilitarized”, yet we absorbed a massacre blow on the morning of Simchat Torah from that same “demilitarized” entity). However, it also and primarily expropriates from Israel the basic and simple truth that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. If we have no right to Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, we have no right to Tel Aviv and Haifa. If we withdraw from the basis of our historical right to the Land, why not withdraw further and further in the wake of more and more military, terrorist, and international pressure?
It is incumbent upon the State of Israel to display national resolve. We were humiliated on the morning of Simchat Torah, and now, we must restore our national dignity, defeat Hamas, and show the entire world that anyone who harms Israel will pay a steep price. The Arab world around us is waiting to see how we will act, and on the basis of the lessons of the current conflict, they will determine the next attack on Israel, whether it will take place or whether they will renounce that option because they will understand that the price will be unbearable for them.
Therefore, we must take steps that will restore deterrence on all borders, in the south, north, and east.
Our eastern border projects a calm demeanor, but the testimonies of residents close to the border indicate the existence of incessant shooting from the east in the framework of what appears to be Jordanian military exercises. The smuggling of weapons and funds from Jordan to terrorist elements in the Palestinian Authority continues. Queen Rania and the Jordanian foreign minister go very far in their anti-Israeli statements. Solar energy agreements are canceled. The Jordanian ambassador is recalled due to what is characterized there as the Israeli killing of innocent people in the Gaza Strip. Support for Hamas among the Jordanian public is gradually rising. Central voices in Jordanian politics, among them the parliament speaker, call for a reassessment of agreements with Israel. Jordanian support for the South African lawsuit in the Hague is clear and dominant. Are we waiting for more blatant hints to understand that the existential threat to Israel will come from the east as well?
The necessary response at present from Israel’s perspective must begin with applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, and over the Jordan Valley first, a move that has a broad national consensus crossing party lines and policies. By doing so, an Israeli initiative will replace the trend of concessions and withdrawals and present the world and the people of Israel with a clear vision that returns us to the Zionist path. By asserting sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, we will also preserve the strategic depth required for Israel's security, strengthen settlements eager for additional population, and cause the untapped tourism potential of this region to flourish.
As far as the Gaza Strip is concerned, it must be under Israeli military and civilian control. Only in that way can the thousands of displaced Israeli residents of the surrounding communities and kibbutzim return safely to their homes. Tending to the sewage and infrastructure in Gaza should not intimidate a nation like ours and should not be a rationale for relinquishing the achievements of our soldiers.
Israel has displayed remarkable diplomatic, security, and unity in the current war. 74% of Israeli citizens oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state. With this tremendous backing from the people, it is incumbent upon the government of Israel, and its leader, to withstand pressures, prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and safeguard the existential interests of the people of Israel. Justice and morality are on our side. We must return to the Zionist values of settlement, security, and aliya on the basis of a healthy consciousness of sovereignty.
Let us ascend for we will prevail.