The most obvious indication that the Palestinians do not want a state is their constant demands for Israel to make far-reaching concessions which they know the Jewish state cannot make. The Palestinians know that the only way to maintain their present status is to make demands that cannot be met. And so, the question is: Why don’t the Palestinians want a state? The reason is simple: Statehood would entail responsibilities the Palestinians do not want to assume.
Without the responsibility of statehood, the Palestinians can be as irresponsible as they please, collect continued charitable giving from the West, and produce nothing of value to anyone. They can continue being the world’s biggest charity case. And the fact that the European Union accepts the Palestinian policy that no Jews can live in Palestine, indicates that they refuse to impose on the Palestinians any standards of democratic behavior, or any limits on their discriminatory policies.
Over a million Muslims live in Israel, enjoy Israeli citizenship, and are eligible for all of the social benefits the State of Israel doles out to its citizens. But the new state of Palestine can ban Jews from living among them. In other words, the Palestinians do not intend to create a democratic state. The Palestinian Authority refuses to accept Israel as a Jewish state, but wants Israel to accept Palestine as a totally Muslim state. Some Jews, although very few, still live in Lebanon, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco. But none may live in Palestine even though there must inevitably be economic intercourse between Israel and Palestine.
Another reason why the Palestinians don’t want a state is that they would have to renounce their Jihadist war against Israel. While individual Arabs may wage war against Israel and Jews in general on a free-lance basis, Palestine, when it becomes a state, will not be able to help them or be declared a belligerent in a war between two states. In other words, they will be unable to accept subsidies from Iran in payment for their contribution to the war against Israel, or else be considered a belligerent ally of Iran.
Meanwhile, Israel gets all the blame for not making more concessions to the Palestinians. But it is obvious that the concessions demanded of Israel cannot be met for one reason: the Israeli public will not accept them. The example of Gaza has taught the Israelis a very costly lesson. The more you give in, the more hostility you get. In addition, the Knesset recently passed a law requiring a referendum before the Israeli government can make any far-reaching concession that threatens the security of the nation.
And so this charade of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians will simply remain a charade for the indefinite future. And this may not be a bad situation. Sometimes it’s better to do nothing than do something that is inevitably harmful. Also, Obama and his State Department seem to have decided to stop pressuring Israel to make concessions that may or may not keep the negotiations alive. With a new pro-Israel Congress taking power in 2011, the Obama administration will have to modify its pro-Palestinian bias.
The Palestinians have threatened to declare independent statehood without coming to any agreement with Israel. To do so, they would have to obtain the approval of the U.N.’s Security Council, in which the United States still has veto power. What will Obama do in the circumstances of a Palestinian declaration of independence? If he approves, it will mean war between the new Palestinian state and Israel and a prolonged occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel.
So it would be in the interest of everyone involved, including the Palestinians, to veto the whole idea should it come up before the Security Council. After all, there isn’t even agreement among Palestinians about who should rule the new state: the Hamas terrorists who rule Gaza or the Fatah rulers of the West Bank? This division among Palestinians is enough to preclude the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The present status quo has produced a period of great economic progress for Israel and a period of stability for West Bank Palestinians. Gaza is another world, a garrison state where Iran calls the shots. It is also not surprising that Israel has emerged from the world financial crisis in much better shape than the United States or countries such as Greece, Portugal, Spain, or Ireland. Israel’s high-tech economy is booming because it can fill a demand that the high-tech world is making. Also, its real estate boom is keeping housing values high.
Furthermore, there has been a marked decline in terrorism, and a huge increase in tourism, beating all past records. So Israelis are in no great hurry to change the present status quo. It is only pressure from Obama and Hillary that has created the present conflict between what Obama wants and what Israel wants. But 2011 may change everything.
Dr. Samuel L. Blumenfeld is the author of nine books on education including NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education, The Whole Language/OBE Fraud, and The Victims of Dick & Jane and Other Essays. Of NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education, former U.S. Senator Steve Symms of Idaho said: “Every so often a book is written that can change the thinking of a nation. This book is one of them.” Mr. Blumenfeld’s columns have appeared in such diverse publications as Reason, The New American, The Chalcedon Report, Insight, Education Digest, Vital Speeches, WorldNetDaily, and others.
