“President-elect Joe Biden will not reverse Donald Trump’s landmark recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital but will seek a state for the Palestinians, Antony Blinken, his nominee for secretary of state” told a Senate panel on Tuesday, January 29, 2021
“The only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state and to give the Palestinians a state to which they are entitled is through the so-called two-state solution,” Blinken said.
But he acknowledged the difficulties ahead, and emphasized what’s important now is “to make sure that neither party takes steps that make the already difficult process even more challenging.” This appears to be a swipe at the West Bank settements policy being aggressively pursued by Israel’s rightwing government under Netanyahu.
Read story here.
The late founder of this blog, Dr. Steven Schwartz, was Jewish and choked up at mention of the Holocaust. The modern state of Israel was carved out of Britain’s Middle East protectorate after World War 2 as a refuge from persecution. The U.S. has a significant Jewish population that is strongly supportive of the Israeli state.
Palestinians have done themselves no favors by seeking the elimination of Israel and waging terror campaigns against Jews of all nationalities, including Americans (see, e.g., the Achille Lauro hijacking). A series of Arab-led wars and Palestinian uprisings (called “intifidas”) failed to dislodge the Jewish state. Low-grade conflict continues in the form of frequent rocket attacks and small-scale terror attacks, periodically prompting Israel military incursions into Palestinian territory.
The West Bank, where most Palestinians live, is functionally an occupied territory. The Palestinians who live there are a subjugated people. Despite all the reasons for having little sympathy for them, as a practical matter people can’t be expected to accept living that way in perpetuity. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the world’s most intractable political problem, and there will never be peace in the Middle East until it’s resolved. Simple common sense argues that resolving it will require a fundamental change in the status and condition of the Palestinian people.
Sequential U.S. administrations have approached both parties and offered their good offices to brokering a settlement (see, e.g., the Camp David accords). But Trump turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the suffering of the Palestinian people and pushed policies that benefited Israel at their expense. This did nothing to bring the conflict closer to a solution. (Read commentary here.)
In the long run, the Palestinians must accept the existence of Israel, which is not going away, and stop violent actions. So far, they’re not willing to do that. Israel must leave Palestinian land and recognize the Palestinians’ right of self-government. They’re understandably unwilling to do that while under attack.
But the settlements policy, which implies permanent Israeli occupation of the West Bank, isn’t necessary to Israel’s security and is a toxic barrier to progress toward peace. It can only produce conflict without end. In the short run, it stands in the way of peace negotiations, and should be held in abeyance. (For an NBC News article about Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, click here.)
While the conflict may seem intractable now, and current generations of Israelis and Palestinians may have to die off before real progress can be made, those yet unborn may be more capable of burying the hatchet in order to address their generation’s practical needs. Palestinians need to be free and self-governing. Israel needs to be free from threats to its survival. Both need functioning economies.
The Biden approach, described by Blinken, simply represents a resumption of longstanding U.S. support for a two-state solution. Reversion to the diplomacy that existed before Trump threw gasoline on the fire won’t work miracles. It’s only a step on a long journey, walking the long walk that someday may lead to a miracle. It’s certainly a more responsible approach than Trump’s kneejerk policy.
Geography has meant this bit of land where Africa an Asia meet mean it will likely be occupied, fought over, and make hard people. Only a united Israel and Palestine will endure. The Arabs made war and failed. In the middle east hat means the Israelis are the victors and should show strength toward the Arabs. The Israelis understand the rules of the game there, and have not fully implemented the rules as that would mean tearing down the Rock and rebuilding the temple. It would mean meting out that which the Arab would. The Ottomons had three ways of dealing ei