Israel Matzav

The Andorra solution

Could this be what Prime Minister Netanyahu plans to propose on Sunday?

Another report, in the daily Yisrael HaYom, says that Netanyahu will propose a diplomatic process leading to the formation of a Palestinian state without an army. The new state would be like Andorra, the small country between France and Spain, and would have recognized borders. Andorra, only 468 square kilometers (181 square miles) in size and with a population of 90,000, is a member of the United Nations, but responsibility for its defense lies with France and Spain.

Netanyahu has long been in favor of an Andorra-like solution for the Palestinian Authority. In 1997, during his first term as Prime Minister, he told interviewer Sir David Frost that in his vision,

“they run their own affairs. They have self-government. They choose their own representatives. They legislate their own laws. They levy their own taxes. They run every aspect of their lives with no interference from us. It's self-government. But those powers that can threaten Israel, our most basic interests, including our security – [those remain] under Israeli control. I'll give you an example… If [the Judean Mountains area] becomes a Palestinian state, then they can have control of the airspace. They can, for example… bring in 1,000 people with the shoulder-fired missiles and shoot down [any plane arriving in Israel]. They couldn't only shoot down that plane; they might even be able to threaten the whole Israeli Air Force. If there's no Israeli Air Force, there's no Israel. So… there has to be a certain limitation of… those powers of the Palestinian entity that could threaten Israel… It's enough for them to control their internal security. [Their armed force] should stay in a circumscribed form so as not to threaten ours.”

Regarding Jewish growth and construction in the Biblical areas of Judea and Samaria, which Obama said last week the United States “no longer accepts as legitimate,” Netanyahu is reportedly willing to compromise. One report states that Netanyahu will agree to limit “natural growth” construction to the settlement blocs that will apparently remain Israeli in all scenarios. These include greater Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, Ariel, and one or two others – but will leave out Kiryat Arba, Beit El, Kedumim, Elon Moreh, and well over 100 other towns.

This might almost be tolerable but for one small fact: The 'Palestinians' (who will never agree to this anyway) would never accept a 'state' unless it were Judenrein. No Jews living in Kiryat Arba (for example) means no Jews in Hebron (living or visiting). Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs is the second holiest site in Judaism (after the Temple Mount). Giving it away is offensive.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:31 PM