The Crux of the Arab-Israel Conflict, Part II

 

Click for Part I

 

All the wars in which Israel defender herself, not once was one of the belligerents a nation by the name of Palestine. In all of history there has never been a nation called Palestine. There was a region of a Roman Province called Syria Palaestina. Further. Jerusalem has served as the capital city for only Jewish nations, the initial lands of the Hebrews and when these lands split, Jerusalem became the capital of Judea, from which the term Jews is derived, and after the dissolution and dispersion of the Jewish People by the Romans, Jerusalem has not served as a capital city until Israel was reestablished in 1948. During the nearly two millennia after the Roman dispersion of the Jews and the return of Jews, the lands which today make up Israel were largely a forgotten and abandoned region almost devoid of human inhabitants. This is not our description, it belongs to Mark Twin in his description from his travels abroad in the late 1860’s. The region was then still under Ottoman Rule. Before the Ottomans entered World War I, the regions which is today Israel had last been fought over by Napoleon briefly and before him were the Crusaders after the Caliphate had taken Jerusalem and the Christians attempted to take it back for Christianity and only succeeded temporarily only to lose it again to Islam.

 

Since the Yom Kippur War the Arabs changed their tactics using their invented people, the Palestinians who came into existence in September of 1964 with the KGB and Arab League launching of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). When the PLO came into existence, they made no claim of the Shomron or of Gaza explaining that these were already in Arab Muslim hands and thus were not in need of liberation. What they did claim they would liberate was all of Israel which they were going to then turn over to Jordan. It was not until almost three years after their founding and after the 1967 Six Day War that they began claiming their ancestral homelands between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. This has been their claim since then and is exactly what is meant by the chant heard across Europe and North America at the anti-Israel rallies, “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free.” Often Mahmoud Abbas is quoted as stating that he only wants the 22% of the lands which belong to his Palestinians. Remember when we told you we would get back to the 22% number, here is where it becomes important. Many will try and claim that Abbas is only referring to the West Bank or it and Gaza. Well, both of these combinations cannot be equal to 22%. The reality is though any combination comes close to 22%, the only true 22% is all the lands west of the Jordan River which are not part of the 78% of the Mandate which is Jordan. Further, if you listen carefully, Abbas often states clearly that he demands 22% of the Mandate. That should be a dead giveaway but many politicians are either idiots, ignorant or stating straight out lies when they claim that Abbas wants peace and just his region within Israel.

 

We have understood that if nothing else would save Israel from its occasional suicidal leaders who agree to the most dangerous peace agreements in order to satisfy the demands for another additional two-state solution, we could always count of Yasser Arafat and then Mahmoud Abbas to refuse every offer. The reason is very simple, there is one demand which must be met or every deal lacking this will be refused, the end of Jews being permitted their own state. Under Islam the Jew is incapable of self-rule and must be cared for by its betters until the time is ripe to demand they convert to the only true religion permitted by Islam on the earth or die if they refuse. While under Islamic protection they are considered Dhimmi and are subject to paying the Jizya. Further, according to Islam, all lands which have ever been ruled by Islam must remain under Islamic rule or be in a state of war with all of Islam. Andalusia is another region which Islam claims which to most people is the Iberian Peninsula, otherwise known as Spain and Portugal. Israel is considered an insult to Islam just by its mere existence. This has been obvious by the number of attempts which have been launched to destroy Israel. Honestly, Israel should never have succeeded in any of her first three wars where Islam attempted her destruction in 1948, 1967 and 1973. Since then the war had changed tactics and uses terrorism and rocket attacks to drive the Jews from the lands. Then there is the demand that the Jews simply return to America and Europe from whence they came. This may be the most disingenuous claim made by the Arabs as they are fully aware that half of the Israeli population came from Arab lands across the Middle East and North Africa as well as Iran when almost 850,000 Jews were forced from their lands where many had resided for over a thousand years after having their wealth stripped and allowed maybe two suitcases in which to pack their belongings, and these were often searched before they were permitted to leave. We have serious doubts that when the Arabs claim the Jews can return to the nations from whence they came that they include their Jews returning to their homes, stores, businesses and regaining all they had lost. Below is a video from the United Nations which takes snippets from the Arab representatives and then contrasts that with the representative from United Nations Watch before the United Nations Human Rights Council. The exchange and the attempt to silence the speaker with a point of order are all quite amusing and the fact that he was permitted to continue was as remarkable as it was surprising. This puts much of the focus where it truly belongs but will never be permitted under the current world in which we reside.

 

 

Israel has accepted several peace proposals all of which have resulted in violence and dead Israelis. Israel removed the IDF and its bases, all intelligence operations and removed almost ten thousand Jews from several communities and even reinterred her dead as had their tombs remained in Gaza, their bodies would have been dug out of the ground and likely burned. The greenhouses Israel left for the Arabs to use were disassembled and their pipes used to make rockets and launchers. Israel in 2000 and in 2008 gave offers of over 90% of the West Bank and land swaps to make up the difference and both of these were refused, one by Arafat and the latter by Abbas. Both Arafat and Abbas were often found to state that the destruction of the Jewish State and an end to the Jews was their minimal demand, but they always stated such in Arabic. Apparently, there is no way that many of the European leaders and the United States Department of State could translate anything stated in Arabic into a language they understand, or they would rather not translate these statements. There is also the threat we hear but which will never be carried out that the Arabs are going to take Israel before the world courts. This will never happen simply because Israel had the first right of claim of the lands between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea by treaty and under Article 80 of the United Nations Charter. The reason there has not been a settlement of the Arab Israeli Conflict is because the Arabs will not accept the existence of Israel. Israel would be quite happy to be granted the stated borders of the Jordan River, Mediterranean Sea, Lebanese border, Egyptian Sinai-Negev border and keeping the Golan Heights for her own security, which with Syria as it is, one can obviously see why. Israel has no desire for empire, though Islam does and sees the entirety of the world as their rightful empire. Israel simply wants to live in the ancient homelands which she was given by Hashem at the conclusion of the Exodus under Moses and the rest under Joshua.

 

There are those who claim that the Jews seek something called a Greater Israel which they state extends from the Euphrates River to the Nile River. This is nothing more than outright lies. There was a time in ancient Israeli history under Kings David and Solomon where there was a Greater Israel. The Biblical description was that the kingdom reached from the Euphrates River to the River of Egypt. The Euphrates was touched at a northern point in what is today Syria and the River of Egypt is today called the Wadi of Egypt as the river has dried out, and it does not refer to the Nile River. Greater Israel is a historic reference and had no reality or application today except to attempt to paint Israel as an aggressor nation and to blame Israel for every time which the Arab world attempted to wipe her off the map. Apparently, the next attempt is not to arise from an Arab country but from Persia, otherwise known as Iran. This does not for a moment mean that the Arabs are done with attacking Israel as they will continue with their terror warfare. Finally, the Arab refugee problem is an Arab problem as they are the descendants of the 675,000 Arabs who became homeless after the 1948 War by the Arabs in their attempt to destroy Israel at her birth. Israel took in far more Jews and never placed them in refugee camps for generations, they accepted them as the brothers and sisters they were and they are now contributing members of Israeli society.

 

Now the world awaits the Trump Peace Plan known as the Deal of the Century. Mahmoud Abbas has already turned it down casting it as Trump’s Zionist inspired anti-Palestinian plan. This has been his position for the past two years despite his never having seen the plan. Is his claim valid? We cannot say as we have not been privileged to see the plan either. Some have claimed, who also have not seen the plan, that Trump will attempt to bribe the Arab Palestinians with a new home and possibly cash and a job if only they will relocate outside of Israel. As we stated, if this is President Trump’s plan, we have one simple question. How in the world does President Trump plan on extracting the Arab Palestinians from their current rulers, who would rather kill them than allow them to leave, without invading these regions and imposing his plan? Even were Trump able to do such a plan with the Arab Palestinians in the Shomron, under Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, no plan short of removal of the Iranian backed terrorist forces in Gaza will allow these people to relocate. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad would respond to whatever the Iranian leadership demanded from them and from what we have seen of how Iran treats internal dissent; it would be an ugly sight of oppressive genocidal rule using an iron fist to prevent the people from serving their own interests. We have witnessed how Hamas and Islamic Jihad are ruthless as they attempt to burn as much of Israel to the ground and are now launching kites with pretty bottles containing poison attempting to murder young children in Israel. Their previous attempt with toys tied to explosive charges failed to entice any victims as the parents warned their children and the children actually listened and obeyed. Israel only wants what the world promised back in 1920, no more and no less. Israel will accept the Jordan River, Golan Heights and the remainder of our borders as they exist. Gaza can remain what it has become as long as they end their attacks with balloons, kites, incendiaries, rockets, mortars or any other form of malicious acts. But if Israel allows Gaza to remain independent, as we did forgo our claim so without the world accepting our reacquiring Gaza, which Europe and the United Nations would never bring themselves to do, Gaza is actually an independent nation of a sort which is ruled by terrorist gangs, like Somalia has been ruled. In exchange for such recognition, Gaza must understand that any form of attack on Israel will be considered an act of war. A series of such acts will bring destruction down upon those responsible. To be honest, there are two Gazas, the one where the Hamas and Islamic Jihad elite and their wealthy friends reside and the one where they wage war from with total disregard for their own people.

 

The Two Gazas with One Pristine and the Other Ravaged

 

Israel has spent most of their efforts destroying the rocket launchers and tunnel systems. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have placed these regularly within working-class neighborhoods, most often amongst or atop apartment buildings. Next to schools and mosques, near hotels where media stay, and virtually anywhere it could cause casualties they can put on display for the media. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been proven to use human shields with a frequency which implies it is a method used intentionally. For Hamas and Islamic Jihad any dead Gazan is a potential Israeli war crime no matter who caused their death. In the recent rocket assaults out of Gaza, the world media immediately repeated the Hamas charge that Israeli strikes had killed a pregnant woman and her accompanying child which Israel denied and in the end it turns out that they were killed by a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket. This was far from the first time such has occurred with the most infamous being the al-Dura case. Israel celebrates life, and we do so in everything we do including attempting to cause as few unintended casualties as possible while Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Authority proudly assert their adoration and love of death. Judaism instructs its adherents to live their earthly existence to the best as they are able with the six-hundred-thirteen commandments of the Torah as our guide with any afterlife as something which comes hopefully after a long and fruitful life. Islam degrades life and puts their expressions into an afterlife which is a refuge from earthly existence which is described as brutal and almost worthless while the afterlife can be a place of flowing streams, endless wine, green grass, and should one die fighting for Allah there are the seventy-two perpetual virgins. Judaism does not even promise a body in the afterlife, thus, no guaranteed virgins for Jews.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

How to Recognize Arab-Israeli Acceptable Peace Plan

 

There exist certain exacting criteria which have become the watchwords demanded of any peace plan if its presenters expect general support. Without these particulars incorporated into your plan, then you are doomed to fail finding yourself left out in the cold space of rejection. The Arabs will laugh in your face, then when you pivot, you will receive a full and proper scolding, all as openers for putting their stamp of approval upon your plan, but not until they are permitted to amend your plan bringing it in line with their experts. Who, you might ask, are the experts and how did they become such experts? Well, that is not as difficult an answer as you may think. An expert is anyone who has published works which insist on a solution where the lands gained (liberated from illegal Jordanian rule) in the Six Day War are returned to their rightful owners, the Palestinians. As an expert, you are completely convinced and aware that the invented convention that the Palestinians have this country called Palestine and the Jews made an amphibious assault taking the beaches in May of 1948 and from that established beachfront, the Jews expanded threatening to conquer the entirety of the Arab World. Fortunately, the Arab armies managed to stop the Jews at what is called the Green Line, thus at least this should be the border. Jerusalem must also be split in half as that was the way it was supposed to be. As long as your scholarly opinion is in agreement with the Arab and European talking points, then praises will be heaped upon you, you will receive invitations to address scholarly conventions with others who believe as do you. Your plan is safe as long as it meets with “the requirements” which everyone who is anyone should be familiar with the points. Vary from the well-worn path which all previous failed plans traveled before yours, then you must be a racist, a radical, you are an instigator who is not serious about reaching a solution. These are the rules for all proposed plans for settling the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Oh, and one last word to the wise, we who decide all do not use the dated terminology of Arab-Israeli Conflict, the newly discovered term which we insist has always been how the problem has been framed, it is now called the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Get with the program if you ever expect to address the Human Rights Council or even the big time and address the General Assembly.

 

This is the atmosphere into which President Trump will be placing his “Deal of the Century” aiming to settle the problem upon which, according to those experts we referenced earlier, any solution must meet with their approval. Further, according to these experts, there must be another nation for the Arabs, oh, sorry, we stand corrected, the Palestinians must receive their rightful state no matter how much the Jews whine about their needs for a secure and defensible set of borders. We experts realize that is just code wording for establishing a “Greater Israel” over half of the Middle East. All of we experts are aware of the deep hidden desire the Jews have to rule over the world and control all the governments. That is why it will be so important that those who have been gifted with recognizable enlightened knowledge be permitted to dictate a proper solution to this conflict respecting the dignity and historical perspectives. We have the credentials given us by our governments who rely upon us to set the height of the bar and the parameters any plan must meet if anything is expected to result from its presentation. We are aware that this set of parameters has been tried repeatedly with the same results, no peace and further increases of terrorism. But trust us, this time it will work if only Israel would allow additional lands to be turned over to the needed Arab entity.

 

Let us look at the Israeli demands which are largely directly attributable to her security and ability to defend her people. The main pieces to any settlement have changed since the Oslo Accords, both I and II, are dead and buried. Mahmoud Abbas has declared this repeatedly, and for a change he is correct. Israel insists on retaining the Golan Heights and the Jordan River Valley (it more resembles a steep sided gorge) and the western cliffs overlooking the river. These are the strategically necessary positions in order to both stop a land assault from the east as well as serving to prevent any Arab entity from importing heavy weaponry. The reasons for the strategic land positions become very evident on the map below which shows the Golan Heights and the Jordan River Valley in topographic relief. Another reason for retaining the overlooking cliffs is for eastward facing radar for early warning of any approaching aircraft. There was a period immediately after the Oslo Accords when Israel offered over ninety percent of the former West Bank (the Shomron or Judea and Samaria) and proffered land swaps in exchange for the main settlement blocks and was also offering the return of eastern Jerusalem. These offers were put forward by both of the left-wing governments, one headed by Ehud Barak and the other by Ehud Olmert. These offers were co-authored by President Clinton assisting Ehud Barak and by George W. Bush with Ehud Olmert. President Clinton had even twisted Barak’s arm until he agreed to every demand by Yasser Arafat. Arafat then refused his own terms and returned via Jordan and finished implementing his plans for the Second Intifada. Even the most minimal demands, actually more like requests, by Israel are unacceptable to the Arab side.

 

Topographic Map of Golan Heights and Jordan River Valley

 

So, what exactly is the Arab side of the argument. What exactly will they accept in order to make peace? Unfortunately, their demands are spoken of only in Arabic, but thanks to MEMRI, Palestinian Media Watch, Honest Reporting, CAMERA, Stand With Us as well as blogs such as ourselves and Chaim Report, Elder of Ziyon and many other worthy efforts, these speeches have been translated and, except for the United States State Department, anyone can go to these locations and find what Abbas and the rest of the terrorist entities both in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria have been saying to their own people. The first realization one reaches is that what they say in Arabic contradicts almost everything said in English. Odd as this concept may seem, but this form of lying to the infidel in order to advance the conquests, interests, positions or simply to obscure the truth of Islam is a religious obligation known as Taqiyya. There is a saying that the way to know when an Arab leader is using Taqiyya is very simple, if it is in English, it is Taqiyya and if it is in Arabic, then the odds drop to around fifty percent depending largely if the speaker will gain from what they are communicating. But when they are using English and placing it for Western consumption, when stating such things as Islam is the religion of peace, terrorism is against Islamic principles and other such statements, it is most definitely Taqiyya so you would be closer to reality by negating everything presented which one finds pleasing to hear. These are stories told to lull the West, the enemy, into a false sense of calm and security all the while undermining everything they are able, and infiltrating the rest. There are exceptions such as when emotions get the better of them and the truth tumbles out. The most obvious recent example has been Mahmoud Abbas consistently stating that President Trump and his Deal of the Century are going to be refused because President Trump has proven by moving the American Embassy to the Capital city of Israel, Jerusalem, that he is biased and serves only Israel. This was simply telling the truth that any peace deal, it does not matter whose it is, as they refused President Obama’s overtures, is dead on arrival if anywhere within the peace plan the Jews are permitted self-rule. There is one point which the Arab Palestinians insist upon in any peace agreement, that they rule all the lands from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea and that the Jews are removed completely from these Islamic Waqf or they will remove them in their fashion. Abbas has repeatedly stated, nay, insisted that every millimeter of lands under Palestinian Arab rule must be free of Jews. He has stated that he does not care where they go, just that they go. So, if Abbas and his Hamas, Islamic Jihad and whatever other terror groups currently are nested in Gaza or Judea and Samaria are ever granted their state of Palestine from the river to the sea (Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea), there will be no room for the Jews and Israel will have been destroyed. These are the demands of the Arabs, that the Jews be returned to their proper place of a people without a country chased from one nation to the next cursed by Allah. Anything short of a complete victory and the utter decimation of Israel leaving the Jews at the tender mercies of the world is unacceptable to the Arabs and they will simply walk away from any negotiations which grant them less and claim Israel is not serious about making peace.

 

The one item which is in Israel’s favor is that according to international law derived from the San Remo Conference, the League of Nations unanimous decision for the establishing of the Jewish State and the Mandate System set up for that expressed purpose, all of which is further backed by the United Nations Charter Article 80 which placed the full enforcement of the United Nations towards realizing the results spelled out in the Mandate System, mean that unless Israel signs a treaty forgoing her ownership of any of the lands west of the Jordan River, the lands are legally all belonging to Israel. Currently, Gaza is a semi-autonomous region ruled by Hamas and parts of Judea and Samaria are a semi-autonomous region ruled by the Palestinian Authority. Neither of these governing entities has held elections for over a decade and Mahmoud Abbas is in his fourteenth year of a four-year term. Whenever it appears that there will be an agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, some technicality or misunderstanding always prevents their union and the holding of elections. Every time elections have been scheduled by the Palestinian Authority, some problem or emergency has caused Abbas to cancel the elections. These are the real reasons that the Palestinian Arabs have not voted for a long time and it has nothing to do with Israel. At least Hamas has declared themselves to be a dictatorial ruling power, Abbas claims to be a democracy where elections just never materialize. Mahmoud Abbas knows he would lose any election and that Hamas would be the victor and unless he escapes in time, he would be tried and hanged. But the media refuses to report the reality as they have taken a position critical of the Jewish State and forgiving of all sins towards the Arab entities. The Europeans have worked with great diligence in their attempts to rid the world of the Jewish State starting even before Israel had declared her independence.

 

This is where the Arab refusal to accept Israel ruled by the Jews in any size or configuration has saved Israel almost despite herself. When the United Nations on November 29, 1947, in the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 which would have divided the lands west of the Jordan into equal sized states, one Arab and one Jewish; the Jews accepted this terrible idea and were saved because the Arabs refused to permit any Jewish state and had already planned to invade Israel immediately after she declared her independence. This was the war which began on May 15, 1948, and is misnamed the Israeli War of Independence, but we like to give it its real name as described by Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League at that time who stated, “It will be a war of annihilation. It will be a momentous massacre in history that will be talked about like the massacres of the Mongols or the Crusades.” That is what the Arabs expected, a war of annihilation where every Jew and probably others even including some of the Muslims who did not hate the Jews with sufficient fervor. Six Arab armies invaded Israel as described on the map below and somehow, without an actual organized military, Israel survived. Israel lost Gaza to Egypt and parts of Judea and Samaria to Jordan. When the PLO was founded in 1964, three years before the Six Day War, their claim was to destroy the Jewish State and turn the lands where Israel had existed over to Jordan and Egypt. They expressly laid no claim to Gaza or the parts of Judea and Samaria under Jordanian control as they were in Islamic hands and did not require cleansing. After the Six Day War, their claims immediately changed to specify the regions lost by Egypt and Jordan claiming in English that this was all they desired.

 

Initial Invasion Routes by Arab Armies on May 15, 1948

 

Still, they have turned down numerous offers which would have given them almost exactly what they claimed to demand and they refused every time. There have been times that a near majority if not a definitive majority of Israelis feared the offer being made to the Palestinian Arabs as they foresaw what would follow. Each time their fears were allayed as Yasser Arafat and then Mahmoud Abbas after him refused every offer. The world knows their only acceptable peace is one where the Jews are destroyed, preferably the world over, but it is easier to blame Israel than officially recognize the truth and work from there. When will the Arab Israeli conflict end? There are two answers. One is after Israel delivers such a blow to the Arab world that they fear for their existence. The other is upon the coming of the Messiah. Until then, every president will try and fail because until a President offers to destroy Israel for the Arab Palestinians so they can have a larger failed state, there will be no solution.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

 

Benny Gantz’s Israel

 

General Benny Gantz (ret.) would be scheduled to be the Israeli Prime Minister for the initial two-year period before handing the office to Yair Lapid for the next two years. We are willing to bet that unless the Knesset is willing to have Israel commit suicide, there will be no handover to Lapid, things would fall apart long before two years had elapsed. All one need is to take a good hard, or possibly a cursory, look at General Gantz Chief of Staff to witness the disaster he might become as Prime Minister. Gantz was the commander of the region when the Second Intifada broke out, General Gantz was commander of the Regional Command Headquarters. When Joseph’s Tomb (Kever Yosef) was under siege and IDF Sergeant Madhat Yusef was shot by Palestinian Arab terrorists and ended up bleeding out over a period of three and a half hours, while drones were overhead feeding back live data of the situation, when IDF soldiers were holed up in Kever Yosef under constant threat and the Samarian brigade headquarters had assembled a tank battalion with two columns of Merkava tanks in place waiting for the order to enter Nablus to conduct a rescue; General Gantz, possibly after checking with Prime Minister and acting Defense Minister Ehud Barak, was at his headquarters never issuing the crucially necessary orders (source). Many of us have likely wondered time and again exactly how long and how much destruction Israel has to face before our powers that be react and bring the violence to an abrupt halt. We fear that under Gantz the wait would be far longer and potentially indeterminately longer and potentially might never come. While Chief of Staff we watch the hurried, unplanned, sloppy and confused retreat from southern Lebanon leading to the problem we see today on the northern border. He was still chief of staff when the next Gaza War ensued and again we find the IDF woefully unprepared for the tunnels and bunkers throughout Gaza and reaching under the border and fairly deep into Israel. We understand that as a general in an army which must follow civilian commands and may not act purely on its own, that sometimes a general has their hands tied such that they are ordered not to escalate a situation. We have a feeling that if even half a dozen Merkava tanks had rolled into the area around Kever Yosef, the Arab Palestinians would have fled rather than wait for what would at that point be the obvious alternative. Not preparing the IDF ground forces to be prepared for fighting an enemy which has built an extensive network of tunnels with some invading the Israeli home itself, that is simply serious dereliction of duty. Even if the excuse was that he was unaware of the extent to which the tunnels had been developed, then one has to question what orders were given to preform even rudimentary research, inspections and surveillance as a commander is presumed to be responsible for collecting in depth determinations of the enemy’s strength, weaponry, numbers, capabilities, weaknesses, strengths and have numerous scenarios all ready and troops trained to execute the plans. Anything less is incompetence. General Gantz gives off the hue of a political general whose career was designed to enter politics. Such an officer never takes risks, never steps out and takes charge, never does anything without first acquiring cover by having somebody else issue the order to him or a directive from above him and simply goes through the motions collecting schools and other items which look pretty on their record and will simply move up through the ranks without ever actually commanding.

 

Now we are seeing the end result of the career of Benny Gantz, his move to become the Prime Minister of Israel. He will claim to have a sterling military career, having held all the correct posts, not ever having been responsible directly for any blunder or miscalculation and for being the good general who carried out his orders and respected those above him while caring for those below him. Meanwhile, according to somebody who served with General Gantz under his leadership, he claimed in his editorial that as a general, Gantz left a considerable amount to be desired. Meanwhile, one listening to Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid would believe that they are one of the most hawkish, Zionist, right-wing and sensible parties in the mix. Israelis should already know that Yair Lapid is a faux conservative and has supported a two-state solution as the road to Nirvana where peace and security are to be found. What may surprise some, but Benny Gantz is also a two-state solution person who stated that the IDF learned much from the Gaza withdrawal and the withdrawal from southern Lebanon and believes that versions of these disasters could be designed which would bring peace. The main difference, though one would never know by listening to their polished campaign or the ads run by their advisors, is that Yair Lapid is willing to return to the Green Line including dividing Jerusalem while Benny Gantz is willing to retreat to the Separation Barrier (anti-terror barrier) and divide Jerusalem, with both men qualifying it as if it would bring peace. Both men in the past have also claimed that their plan would end the struggle between the Jews and Arabs, a struggle which has ebbed and flowed but never ceased for over a thousand years. Both men claim that the reason that Israel does not have peace is because Prime Minister Netanyahu does not have the courage to step into the unchartered areas of allowing the Palestinian Arabs to have exactly that which they claim will bring peace. What could possibly go wrong if these two men are permitted to take their clown act to the Prime Minister’s house?

 

There have been times in the past when we have stated that the only thing which can save Israel from certain disaster has been Yasser Arafat and, after him, Mahmoud Abbas. When Prime Minister Ehud Barak folded before pressures brought by President Clinton in Paris and gave in to everything which Yasser Arafat had demanded, we swallowed hard and tried to find some way the Arafat could weasel his way out of the deal. We were melancholy and dejected as we saw no way that Israel could be saved from itself. We had been mistaken. Yasser came down the next morning knowing that the media was there, President Clinton was there, the build-up to something momentous had been implied, and all the formal papers and everything Arafat had demanded was sitting right there in the middle of the lobby awaiting Arafat. The drama was intense and one could feel the anticipation as Yasser Arafat was heard heading to the lobby where he made an abrupt right turn and walked straight out the front door, into his waiting limousine and sped to the airport to fly back to Jordan. That was a close one. Yasser Arafat had agreed to terms he knew no Israeli Prime Minister could accept, but he had misread how badly Ehud Barak desired a peace agreement, any peace agreement.

 

It was a few years later and a new American President named George W. Bush who with Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State who had this brilliant idea, if only the Palestinian could be granted an opportunity to prove that they are ready to form a state and make peace, then peace would be more easily attained. But this time Israelis felt safe as the Bulldozer, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Likud were in the driver’s seat. With dreams of a Nobel Peace Prize, the guarantees offered by the United States, the insistence that if it does not work, then the IDF can simply move in and retake the strip and nothing lost and who can know what else was dancing in everybody’s heads. As it turned out, many of the Likud Party balked at this idea including eventually Bibi Netanyahu, but the Bulldozer did not get that moniker by giving up easily. Sharon dissolved his ruling coalition and, without a new election, put together a new coalition with many people from the left filling the vacated spots from those in Likud who refused to go along. Sharon also kept many of the centrist parties in his old coalition and took his patchwork coalition and by early September 2005, the Israelis had pulled even their dead from within Gaza and interred them safely in Israel. We all know how that Gaza Disengagement has worked, four wars later with another one all but guaranteed in the not too distant future. But George W. Bush and company were not finished, though Prime Minister Sharon was.

 

Next to step up to how big a mistake can you make was Ehud Olmert. This was 2008 and the opportunity for George W. Bush and company to collect their Nobel Peace Prizes was winding down. This time they met at Camp David and before it was over were meeting at Taba, Egypt which is just across the border from Eilat, Israel. The entirety of the final months of the Presidency of George W. Bush were spent chasing down Mahmoud Abbas offering a little more and a little more and each time coming up short. Mahmoud Abbas has made no secret of the deal he will accept, Israel completely turned over to the Arabs, the Jews gathered for a ritualistic slaughter and the United States paying a dear price in keeping such an agreement. Needless to point out, Abbas did not get the magic solution he demands. Of course Abbas is crafty and never quite states his demands and simply hints that he demands this, that and well, then we will see. When those steps are complete, then this has to give just a smidge, that is not quite acceptable, and what about this over here. This continued until Abbas ran out the clock but also not before he had gathered a plethora of new concessions. Again, another ability to miss an opportunity by the Palestinian leadership executed with absolutely no finesse. The problem is that the Arabs do not want any form of compromise, they want it all and the Jews with their necks bared ready for the Arab knives and nothing less.

 

Bibi Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz

 

That begs the question as to what harm could a Prime Minister Gantz do if the Palestinians continue to refuse any and every solution and are adamant that Israel must be destroyed? The devil is in the details and the details are the concessions. Gaza is the prime example of what can possibly go wrong if Israel elects the wrong party to run the country and form a coalition. Now we will take a moment to calm any of our American friends who have been watching the polls and are worried that Gantz may well be the next Prime Minister. Allow us to point out that Simon Peres never lost a single poll when he ran for Prime Minister and further he never won an election as Prime Minister. That is the nature of Israeli polling companies and how they arrange their sampling. To put it as plainly as we can, it is slanted leftward significantly. The main problem the next Prime Minister(s) is that they will very likely be faced with President Trump and his “Deal of the Century.” Since the word from day one has been that, neither side would be completely pleased with anything, and definitely not with everything, the fortunate central thing is that Mahmoud Abbas will never accept any deal which leaves Israel in tact. The big question comes next, how far would President Trump go in order to coax Mahmoud Abbas into coming to the negotiating table, something he has adamantly refused to do as he refuses to deal with President Trump. Israel has watched far too many people come and go all ready to sacrifice Israeli security in order to reach that ever-elusive deal. What is even more frightening is that Jarred Kushner is President Trump’s main advisor on the Israel/Arab confrontation. Jared has no real claim to fame other than having married a Trump, not exactly a stupid move, but also not exactly prime credentials for negotiating in the tempestuous Middle East where knives stuck in one’s back are commonplace. Further, with Jarred being Jewish and the American Ambassador to Israel being Jewish and at least one or two more on the team being Jewish, does anybody honestly believe Mahmoud Abbas will agree to anything which does not leave everything primed for the end of Israel? This is the problem we see in making any deal.

 

Now throw in Gantz, a man who reached the rank of general, so he is not a complete idiot and has enough sense to keep his nose clean, but also a man who takes no risks but is very good at doing what advisors say, his entire campaign has been him reading exactly what advisors have given him to read. His history would leave him vulnerable to complying with the demands of one he might see as somebody he should trust and do so implicitly. He did this while serving under Prime Minister Ehud Barak and has spoken admirably of his former boss. Somebody trusting the judgement of Ehud Barak who was prevented from making a disaster as Yasser Arafat feared being assassinated if he reached an actual agreement. One can only guess exactly how far Gantz or Lapid might go to allow for an agreement. One can only panic thinking what a party run by Gantz and Lapid might turn around and do on their path to glory and great recognition.

 

Perhaps this would be a good time to point out, which many of our readers can attest, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has not fared all that well on our pages. We feel he leaves much to be desired and that since President Trump had been in the White House, we find Bib Netanyahu to have been suffering from an inability of pulling the trigger and doing what needed doing. We believe that President Trump had all but instructed Netanyahu in so many terms to take the bull by the horns and solve your own messes. When President Trump made a sweep through the region speaking to each leader as part of his announcement that the United States was pulling out of Syria, his reputed commentary to Israeli leaders was that the United States is done with the wars and other messes in the Middle East and that as Israel has received billions of dollars, it was time for Israel to step it up and take care of business. That sounds like a free pass to finish the problem and finally enforce the terms of the San Remo Conference and the British Mandate, both of which are supposed to be enforced by the United Nations, do not count on that, and the world courts, there one might have a fair shot from what we have seen and read. Still, Israel has to take care of Israel and simply buying the emigration of the majority of the Palestinian Arabs after removing the main impediment to such a program, their leadership. The majority of the Arab Palestinians residing in Gaza and the Shomron (Judea and Samaria) would take a generous buyout and an enticement to seek a better life elsewhere, sufficient cash that many places around the world would see these Arabs as worthy of taking in as they would be an instant boost to the economy. There are some who claim that Israel cannot afford such a plan, but we ask how much longer Israel can continue to live in a constant state of war preparedness. President Trump has eliminated every obstacle to resolving the Arab problems which Israel faces with one exception, Israeli leadership. The time has come for a definitive new Prime Minister who will end this fiasco and do so with an urgency beyond anything any previous Israeli has attempted. We wish we could tell the Israelis who is such a person, but we can tell you that Gantz and Lapid are not even close to being in the running. Perhaps one will appear magically as the elections near, but with Netanyahu not generating any excitement and Lapid and Gantz simply generating panic, we are in a quandary.

 

Beyond the Cusp