Israel Matzav

Why Israel can't end the 'occupation'

I stumbled across this post through a Digg link (if someone can tell me how to get the Digg icons to set themselves up automatically - or better yet send html code - I would do them myself, but I spent a lot of time trying unsuccessfully to do it). This blog sounds like it comes from the 'sane left.' But his reasons for Israel remaining just where it is are dead on even if one only looks at the security situation:

What I do not understand about Lerner and other ‘pro-Israel’ people who are obsessed with ending the occupation, is what exactly they think Israel should do instead. I am willing to bet that if Israelis could push a button which would end the occupation of the West Bank without imperiling their lives or the existence of the state, a huge majority of them would push it in an eyeblink.

Boker tov [good morning], Michael: did you notice that Israel ended the occupation of Gaza? Did it reduce terrorism from there? Did it help the Palestinians who live there? Did it improve the security of the state of Israel?

Lerner and others would probably respond that the problem was that Israel can’t just pull out, there have to be negotiations, ‘coordination’ with the Palestinians, a solution of the refugee problem, etc.

Well, we weren’t able to do it in 2000, although we tried. It was an honest try, despite the fact that the Palestinians lied about it afterwards. And if you want to know why it didn’t work in 2000, see my previous post about Abbas and Camp David. If anything, Palestinian positions have hardened since then, with the advent of the Hamas-led government.

So Israel simply doesn’t have a choice today other than to maintain the occupation. The alternative is a terror infrastructure developing within minutes of Israel’s population centers and international airport, replete with tunnels, bunkers, anti-aircraft weapons, short-range ground-to-ground missiles, and incursions across the border to kill or kidnap Israelis.

I think that's a pretty accurate description of the situation.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:00 AM