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| PA President Mahmoud Abbas( Wikipedia) |
There is a discussion about what will be the day after [the war]. I will reveal a little bit of what will be the day after. On the day after the war there will not be a Palestinian entity that will educate its children to murder Jews. There will not be UNRWA any longer, not in Gaza, not in the PA and not in Jerusalem. The era of educating to violence is finished.
-- MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) in a session of the security and defense committee in Knesset.
I am in favor of a 2 state solution. This should not shock anyone. I have been saying this ever since the idea was first brought up. What I am not in favor of is a two state solution where ‘Palestine’ will be genocidal. Where children will be raised to hate Jews so much that they cheer when we are slaughtered raped, mutilated, beheaded. or kidnapped.
That kind of ‘Palestine’ is a non starter. We cannot have another Gaza on the West Bank. It would be a prescription for a genocide against the Jewish people that could surpass that of Nazi Germany.
With respect to my support in theory of a two state solution, I realize that extreme right wing religious Zionist ideologues like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich would be vehemently opposed to giving away an inch of land to Palestinians under any circumstances. Even of it would bring peace.
But I have to believe the vast majority of Israel would be happy to end the constant fear of violence and bloodshed that permeates Israeli society now. By vast majority I include secular Israelis, moderate religious Zionists, and even Charedim. Pikuach Nefesh trumps all the other Mitzvos in the Torah except the prohibitions against murder, idol worship, and adultery.
For the record my Rebbe, Rav Ahron Soloveichik, opposed giving up any land to Palestinians. Many years ago during ‘Oslo’, asked him about land for peace as a matter of Pikuach Nefesh.He answered that giving them land would be the opposite of Pikuach Nefesh. He knew then what I know now.
It isn’t just Hamas. They are just the military wing of a people - most of whom feel the same way. That should be obvious by the way Palestinians have been protesting Israel’s war with Hamas. Calling for a ‘Free Palestine - from the river to the sea!’ It should be obvious from the fact that they call all their civilian casualties martyrs. It should be obvious from the fact that they openly say that their land has been occupied for 75 years. Which is when the UN partitioned Palestine into 2 states: One Jewish and the other Arab. They didn’t accept it then and they don’t accept it now. It is a religious principle for them worth dying for.
So as things stand now and for the foreseeable future, a 2 state solution is not possible.
The problem is that this is exactly what the vast majority of the international community - including the US advocates and expects Israel to do. In theory it seems like the only just solution that would end the conflict. But in practice it would be suicidal for Israel to do that now.
How can the civilized world not realize that?! A two state solution is a prescription for terrorism against Israel on steroids! Even if the PA (Palestinian Authority) takes over as their governing body - as the US has suggested. The idea that they will somehow rein in terrorism is laughable!
Even if Israel succeeds in destroying Hamas there will be another version of this group of savage Islamist terrorists arising in their place. They will surely have the religious fervor and determination to do to the PA on the West Bank what Hamas did to the PA in Gaza. They got rid of them - to the cheers of Gaza civilians!
When a religious principle is what motivates you nothing stops you. Taking back Palestine by any and all means available is a religious principle for them. Means that include all the atrocities they committed on October 7th - while screaming, ‘Alahu Akhbar’ - God is great!
Making all this possible is an Iran whose views about the destruction of Israel are identical to Hamas. It is Iran that supplies them with the means to carry out their mission.
(The truth is that Iran is the real problem. Without them, there would be no Hamas that would be capable of doing what they did and promise to keep doing. And no Houthis that have been Iran is in fact attacking the US in the Red Sea. Get rid of Iran and it solves a lot of problems. How to do that is beyond the scope of this post.)
So I agree with Yuli Edelstein. There cannot be a Palestinian entity that will educate its children to murder Jews. Educating their people to violence needs to be eradicated from their midst.
I pray for peace in Israel every day. But peace will not come with a two state solution. As things stand now it will only bring more tragedy to our people. Even with a ‘reformed’ PA as their governing body (As was suggested by Secretary of State, Antony Blinken when he was asked about who should govern Gaza after the war.) I wish they could be. But the idea that the PA cans somehow be disabused of their hatred of us which has been indoctrinated multi-generationally - and suddenly stop teaching it to their children is about as likely as Iran’s Supreme leader converting to Judaism.
I just wish the Biden administration realized all of this. If they did, their suggestion that the PA govern Gaza after the war would never have been made. Nor would they be promoting a two state solution. On the other hand if they do realize it ad still advocate the PA taking control of Gaza and creating a two sate solution - that would be both immoral and irresponsible.