Jacob, could you address the internal contradictions in your proposals?
2. Palestine: forcing Israel to withdraw from almost all their West Bank settlements, including East Jerusalem. We have the leverage to do this, and it has been U.S. policy for a long time. We need to get serious about it. As long as Israel continues to place settlements throughout the West Bank, inside and between all Palestinian populations, the Palestinians will believe Israelis are not serious about Land-For-Peace. The Wall is doing this; when built it will be the de facto border of Israel, and the settlements outside it will wither.
3. continuing to help Israel militarily defeat Hamas. There can be no compromise with them, they must be destroyed.
Well, I'm glad you don't subscribe to the unrealistic idea that if Israel only withdrew from the territories, everything would be hunky-dory. However, considering that, as you say, Hamas is following the Hizbullah model, how would it be possible to do 2 before 3 has been completed? Withdrawing in the face of a militant Hamas (and a PA that is just as bad) would greatly increase the power and prestige of these organizations.
4. encourage an exchange of populations, so the demographic frontiers correspond to the military/political borders. Jews and Arabs will never get along under the same government. Arabs inside Israel will always be a hostile conquered people. That means, in addition to Israel withdrawing behind the border walls (creating a large ghetto), the Arab population inside Israel has to leave and give up the RightOfReturn. Whatever land Israel intends on keeping permanently, must have a near-100% Jewish population.
I have news for you, the Arabs inside Israel are not a hostile conquered population, they are citizens with equal rights under law. It is true that Arab Israelis suffer discrimination, but they are still far better off than they would be under any Arab government, and they have zero desire to move to the PA. They just don't say this out loud. But as Israel unilaterally builds its wall (which the Palestinians don't like because it's not following the Green Line exactly but is including the large border settlements), the Arab towns on the Green Line are consistently fighting to be included on the Israeli side.
Also, population transfer will be called "ethnic cleansing" if the Israelis do it. If the Palestinians do it, it will be called normal. |
