There was always talk of a Two-State Solution. It has been on the table even before Israel declared independence. However, has anyone ever stopped to think about the future of Israel, if there was a Palestinian Arab State?
Palestinian Arabs
This term refers to the people who lived in Palestine before it became the State of Israel. The history of a distinct Palestinian national identity is disputed by scholars. Many agree the term came about after the Arabs left Palestine in 1948 when Israel declared independence and in 1967 when Israel conquered Judea and Samaria.
The world Palestinian came about because the land was originally named Palestine. In 1919, 90% of the population were made of Palestinian Arabs and Christians.
Two-State Solutions
The age old question of a two state solution. The offer a state to Israel and the Arabs has always been on the table. In 1947 the United Nations Partition Plan, was to divide up the area between Israel and the Arabs. Leaving Jerusalem an international city for both sides. The Jews, after the horrors of the Holocaust wanted nothing more than to return home to their land, Israel, they rejoiced. The Arabs rejected this idea.
Israel withdrew from Gaza (2005) and gave control over cities in Judea and Samaria to the Palestinian Authority in the hope that this would bring peace. Once can see in today’s news that it has not, rockets still rain down on southern cities in Israel.
There has been much international help, from places such as the United States to try and get Israel and the Arabs to sit down and talk together to see if there is a solution. The Oslo Accords was an attempt, but this drew to a close when the Second Intifada hit in 2000.
The Arabs View on Israel
It is hard to make peace with an enemy who believes you do not have the right to exist. It is written in the Palestinian Charter, written by the Palestinian Authority, Article 19, describes the establishment of the State of Israel as “entirely illegal”. How can you make peace with such an enemy? The first thing the Arabs would need to do is recognize the right to Israel’s existence.
The Arabs would need to start teaching tolerance and acceptance. Which they do not, they teach their children hate, they teach them to kill the Jews. As Golda Meir, Israel’s Prime Minister said “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.”
The Israeli View on the Arabs
The Israeli Army has always held restraint. when the Arabs have been throwing rockets, incendiary bombs, throwing grenades, etc. Israel has always tried to take the moral high ground. Only when necessary has the Israeli Army held operations in Gaza. After a few weeks of fighting, normally the United Nations calls a ceasefire, which on the Arab side does not last long.
The Israeli’s have generally been forthcoming about a two-state solution. Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005 and handed over authority to the Palestinian Authority, in the hope it would bring peace. Israel has withdrawn from cities such as Ramallah, parts of Hebron in the hope it would bring peace. It has not.
So Where Will Israel Be In 5 Years?
Unless the Arabs change, Israel will not exist. There can not be a two-state solution. The Arabs will continue to throw rockets down on us. Throw grenades, throw incendiary balloons or kites. Israel and the people living in it will be gone.