Aviad Kleinberg writes an Op-ed at YNET:
In the new map of interests in the Middle East, created by radical Islam’s attack on pro-Western Arab states, the price Israel will be required to pay for a solution to the conflict is exceptionally low.
“…. Radical Islam’s attack on the pro-Western Arab states in the region has created a new map of interests in the Middle East. Countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and some of the Gulf states see the Islamists rather than Israel as the biggest threat to their regimes. They rightfully see Hamas in Gaza as a dangerous Islamist enclave and treat it accordingly (take note of Egypt’s exhibited hostility towards the Hamas government in Gaza during and after Operation Protective Edge). The Palestinian Authority no longer enjoys the sweeping support of radical forces either.
….. Israel today is a “natural” ally of the region’s pro-Western regimes. They have no interest in undermining its stability or threatening its existence. On the contrary.
….. That does mean that the price Israel will be required to pay in return (for entering a regional alliance) is exceptionally low today. Its potential allies …. will be willing to help in different ways by catering to Israel’s legitimate security needs.
…Inaction …will turn the bi-national state into a fact in the near future. The separation between the populations will become difficult, if not impossible, as the settlement in West Bank lands continues. In practice, Israel will have to choose between two bad options: Institutionalizing the inequality …. or granting Israeli citizenship to a large and hostile Palestinian minority.
The first option will lead to our isolation in the bloc of democratic states.
The second option will eliminate the Zionist dream.
The third option, that “something” will happen which will allow us to control the Palestinians and implement an efficient regional policy without an agreement, will be considered a miracle.
We must not rely on miracles.
Israel was not established thanks to miracles. It was established thanks to its leaders’ impressive ability to understand the balance of power and seize opportunities. ….the window of opportunity is closing.