Israel's only two options
Caroline Glick writes that it is time for Israel to acknowledge reality. Israel has only two choices with respect to Judea and Samaria: Either the 'Palestinians' will control them or we will. If the Palestinians take control, they will establish a terror state in the areas, which - like their terror state in Gaza - will use its territory as a starting point for continued war against Israel.Read the whole thing. Until now, the calls for annexation that I have seen called only to annex the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria. That might also be worth considering. But if you're not worried about that fake demographic time bomb, Glick's ideas are not far-fetched either. Hmmm.
It isn't only Israel's experience with post-withdrawal Gaza and South Lebanon that make it clear that a post-withdrawal Palestinian-controlled Judea and Samaria will become a terror state. The Palestinians themselves make no bones about this.
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The second option is for Israel to annex Judea and Samaria, complete with its hostile Arab population.
Absorbing the Arab population of Judea and Samaria would increase Israel's Arab minority from 20% to 33% of the overall population. This is true whether or not Israel grants them full citizenship with voting rights or permanent residency without them.
Obviously such a scenario would present Israel with new and complex legal, social and law enforcement challenges. But it would also provide Israel with substantial advantages and opportunities.
Israel would have to consider its electoral laws and weigh the prospect of moving from a proportional representation system to a direct, district system. It would have to begin enforcing its laws toward its Arab citizens in a manner identical to the way it enforces its laws against its Jewish citizens. This includes everything from administrative laws concerning building to criminal statutes related to treason. It would have to ensure that Arab schoolchildren are no longer indoctrinated to hate Jews, despite the fact that according to the Israel Project survey, 53% of Palestinians support such anti-Semitic indoctrination in the classroom.
These steps would be difficult to enact.
On the other side, annexing Judea and Samaria holds unmistakable advantages for Israel. For instance, Israel would regain complete military control over the areas. Israel ceded much of this control to the PLO in 1996.
The Palestinian armies Israel agreed to allow the PLO to field have played a central role in the Palestinian terror machine. They have also played a key role in indoctrinating Palestinian society to seek and work toward Israel's destruction. By bringing about the disbanding of these terror forces, Israel would go a long way toward securing its citizens from attack.
Furthermore, by asserting its sovereign rights to its heartland, for the first time since 1967, Israel would be adopting an unambiguous position around which its citizens and supporters could rally. Annexation would also finally free Israel's politicians and diplomats to tell the truth about the pathological nature of Palestinian nationalism and about the rank hypocrisy and anti-Semitism at the heart of much of the international Left's campaigns on behalf of the Palestinians.
Labels: annexation, Caroline Glick
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:31 PM
3 Comments:
Piecemeal annexation ends up with informal and ad hoc security arrangements with a still functioning PLO. Full annexation may end up with Arab vote but PLO probably outlawed, period. There is one outstanding problem: do the Arab parties and Jewish leftists make push for "right of return"" with "family reunification," unification with Gaza etc. Then the percentages change. No easy answers.
There is a third option which no one will speak of.
Annex Judea and Samaria and remove all Muslims from the area.
One problem with mass, involuntary transfer--even factoring in the political hypocrisy undergirding international law and acquiescence in Arab and Islamic delegitimizing of Israel w/agitation for its extinction--is that it is a clear violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention--however you want to parse whether the Palestinian territories are a state or the Palestinians a signatory etc. etc.
Kicking them all out is pretty much recognized as, yes, a "war crime".
The victors may define the rules and the rules are always broken and somehow the victors skate away from judgement but transfer is a big leap into the dark.
Don't count on its implementation being as pain free as writing that sentence.
But isn't the idea already "in the wind"?
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