Israel Matzav

So much for the 'Peres solution'

Over the past several weeks, we have seen stories bandied about in the media here that Israel is going to give the 'Palestinians' xx% of Judea and Samaria (generally 92-98%) and 'make up' the rest by giving them land within 'Israel proper.' Typically, the land within 'Israel proper' that has been under discussion has been land in the Galilee that abuts Samaria and that is populated with Arabs. It goes without saying that the Arabs don't want to live in 'Palestine' - they want to be 'discriminated against' in Israel. On Friday, 'moderate' 'Palestinian President' Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen agreed with them:

At a meeting with Hadash Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh, Abbas stated he is against a final status accord under which areas in Israel containing Arab Israelis would become part of a future Palestinian state's territory. This would be in return for settlement blocs in the West Bank remaining under Israeli sovereignty.

...

MK Barakeh praised Abbas' remarks and said: "Israeli Arab citizens are not Israeli real estate to be negotiated over in order to validate the evils of the occupation."

There are three reasons some Israelis want this deal: First, to avoid having to expel 400,000 Jews from their homes, since the government has yet to 'resettle' the 10,000 who were expelled two years ago. This 'solution' would significantly reduce the number of Jews to be expelled. Second, to solve the 'demographic problem' the left has spent the last forty years telling everyone we have (which is a fraud). And third, because they believe that the 'Israeli Arabs' would be better off living with their 'Palestinian' brethren (they would be but they would never give up the opportunity to be an irredentist minority among the Jews).

I can't wait to hear Avigdor Lieberman's reaction. He's the one who's been promoting this 'solution' even before it gained credibility by being associated with Peres. When will Israel's politicians figure out that this isn't about land, that the 'Palestinians' are not looking for a negotiated solution and that any attempts at compromise won't work?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:46 AM