The United States and its Arab allies in the Middle East are again trying to force the so-called “two-state solution” down Israel’s throat.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates have joined the Biden Administration in “rushing to complete a detailed, comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and Palestinians, including a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state that could be announced as early as the next several weeks,” according to The Washington Post.
The “detailed, comprehensive plan” would, as it has for decades, include the expulsion of more than half a million Israelis from their homes and communities in Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley and literally half of Israel’s capital city, Jerusalem, along with some way to connect each terrorist entity with the other: a way to link the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria with Gaza. Oh yes: and the reconstruction of Gaza, for the umpteenth time, because the Israel Defense Forces have again been forced to damage and destroy many buildings and much of the infrastructure in combat with Hamas terrorists who always choose to use their civilian population as human shields.
Israeli lawmakers and ministers from across the political spectrum — with the exception of those in the Arab Israeli parties — are categorically opposed to this move.
Itamar Ben-Gvir
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) slammed the plan in a curt post on the X social media platform and later in a statement to media.
1,400 נרצחים והעולם רוצה לתת להם מדינה. לא יקרה!
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) February 15, 2024
“1,400 are murdered and the world wants to give them a state. Not going to happen!” Ben-Gvir wrote in the post.
“The intention of the US, together with the Arab states, to establish a terror state alongside the State of Israel is delusional and part of the misguided conception that there is a partner for peace on the other side,” he added in a statement to media, according to Ynet.
Bezalel Smotrich
“After October 7 it is clearer than ever that it is forbidden to give them a state. While we are in the government, no Palestinian state will be established. We will in no way agree to this plan, which actually says that the Palestinians deserve a reward for the terrible massacre they did to us — a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism).
“The message is that it pays very well to massacre Israeli citizens. A Palestinian state is an existential threat to the State of Israel as was proven on October 7, Kfar Saba will not be Kfar Gaza!
“I will demand today at the security cabinet meeting that it make a clear and unequivocal decision stating that Israel opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and the imposition of sanctions on over half a million settlers. “I expect clear support from Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, [Minister] Benny Gantz, [Minister] Gadi Eisenkot and all the ministers,” Smotrich added.
Amichai Chikli
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli (Likud) likewise condemned the move.
“If this is the American vision, we need to resist it and threaten them with our own unilateral steps, like canceling the Oslo Accords,” the minister said in an interview on Galei Tzahal Army Radio.
Gideon Sa’ar
Former Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar (New Hope party) had already warned in an address delivered earlier this week in Berlin that the international community was working on another unilateral effort to create another terrorist state on Israel’s borders.
“This plan will not only not resolve the conflict but will make it intractable. The Palestinians will receive recognition in the state without paying the price of compromise and will continue the conflict from an upgraded position that will harm Israel’s right to self-defense,” he wrote in a post on the X social media platform.
בנאומי אתמול בברלין התרעתי מפני התוכנית המסוכנת המתגבשת להכרה בינלאומית חד-צדדית במדינה פלסטינית. תוכנית זו לא רק שלא תפתור את הסכסוך אלא תהפוך אותו לבלתי פתיר. הפלסטינים יקבלו הכרה במדינה מבלי לשלם את מחיר הפשרה וימשיכו את הסכסוך מעמדה משודרגת שתפגע בזכותה של ישראל להגנה עצמית. pic.twitter.com/lp1JJDqNw8
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) February 15, 2024
Zev Elkin
Knesset member Zev Elkin (New Hope party) agreed with Ben-Gvir’s statement.
“Not going to happen!” he wrote in a post on X.
“The establishment of a Palestinian state means the establishment of a Hamas state, which will win any election there will be. This step will lead to the risk of a repeat of the events of October 7 for the entire country.
“At the time, no one proposed to the United States following the events of 9/11 to establish an Al-Qaeda state along the border with the United States,” he noted acerbically.
“The Israeli public will not let this happen!”
Orit Strook
Minister of Settlements and National Mission Orit Strook (Religious Zionism) bluntly said in a statement that the State of Israel will not commit suicide to satisfy the diplomatic aspirations of the US and others.
“To Biden, and to everyone who considers himself our friend: Israel will not kill itself, and will not harm its security again with its own hands.
“The October 7 lesson is that retreat brings terror. The October 8 lesson is that the Palestinian Authority = Hamas, with the same motivations, only with less capabilities.
“Kfar Saba will not be Kfar Gaza. A Palestinian state will not be established. Shame on the very offer!”
Shlomo Ne’eman
Yesha Council chief Shlomo Ne’eman, who heads the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria, called the plan “a victory for the cruel enemy.”
In a statement issued in response to The Washington Post article, Ne’eman said, “The establishment of a Palestinian state means a loss in the war and a victory for the cruel enemy in the Palestinian Authority.
“We cannot turn off the lights and give up the State of Israel. Therefore we will not be silent until we receive a clear announcement from the Israeli government that a Palestinian state will not be established, not tomorrow and not at all.”
Ne’eman and other residents of the Yesha Council member communities would be among those the Palestinian Authority and its Arab state backers hope to expel from their homes.
‘Friends Like These’
Jordan and Egypt both have peace treaties with Israel. The United Arab Emirates is a member of the Abraham Accords “circle of peace” with Israel, and the United States endlessly touts its “unbreakable bond” with the Jewish State.
Qatar is a generous patron of the Hamas terrorist organization and as such, has been involved in brokering hostage release talks together with Egypt and the United States.
Consider this: “In late December (2023), two student organizations at Qatar University (QU) – the Elia Club, an organization of Palestinian students, and the Environment and Sustainability Club – in conjunction with the Student Activities Administration, planted a garden shaped like a map of Palestine on the campus grounds,” the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported. “This “map” represents Palestine as stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, in complete disregard of Israel’s existence, and includes trees representing “Palestinian” cities inside Israel, such as Jaffa, Acre and Beersheba.
“The Elia Club, whose name is derived from the Roman name of Jerusalem (Aelia Capitolina), often holds Palestinian-themed activities and on more than one occasion has expressed support for terrorist activity against Israeli citizens, as may be seen in its X (formerly Twitter) account. It should be noted that, in November 2023, QU hosted an art exhibition in which similar maps of Palestine from the river to the sea were displayed.”
With friends like these, one hardly needs enemies: these folks are doing all the heavy lifting for the Palestinian Authority-backed Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terror group, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and even Hezbollah, all of whom have no problem repeating their solid commitment to the annihilation of the Jewish State and its Jewish inhabitants.
The vast majority of Palestinian Authority residents, polled over and over again, and those in Gaza as well, incidentally, are likewise opposed to a “two-state solution.” What they repeatedly call for is a “one-state solution” that would end the existence of the State of Israel and its Jews, once and for all.
But in the wake of the October 7th massacres by thousands Hamas-led terrorists from Gaza, Israelis are finally uniting in their rejection of this “final solution” to the problem of the existence of the Jewish State.
Even Israelis who are members of the leftist Peace Now movement — many of whom were slaughtered by their Gaza neighbors on October 7 even after having driven their children to Israeli hospitals for medical care and offering other assistance — understand at last that a “two-state solution” is just not a viable option. One cannot applaud with only one hand.
What Do You Mean by That?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has categorically, repeatedly, rejected this “solution” — most recently in an interview Sunday with anchor Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week.”
“Everybody who talks about a two-state solution, well, I ask what do you mean by that?” Netanyahu said.
“Should the Palestinians have an army? Can they sign a military pact with Iran? Can they import rockets from North Korea and other deadly weapons? Should they continue to educate their children for terrorism and annihilation? Of course you’d say ‘of course not.’
“I’ve always said, in a future peace agreement which everybody agrees is far off, I think the Palestinians should have the powers to govern themselves but none of the powers to threaten Israel, and the most important power that has to remain in Israel’s hands is overriding security control in the area west of the Jordan — that includes Gaza — otherwise history has shown terrorism comes back, and we don’t want terrorism to come back.”
