What remains now is for all parties
to courageously and boldly cast off the mindless schemes of Oslo and the Road Map and return to
the sanity and statesmanship of the 1919 agreement. Those Arabs who have an
acquired identity as 'Arab-Palestinian' should be given a far better
alternative option than to be buried alive inside a non-viable illegal
micro-state carved out of the Israeli heartland. You must take into account
that the Arab Countries have expelled over one million Jews, confiscated their
homes and assets.
The
Win-Win solution
Contrary to popular belief, the
Arab-Israeli conflict has a reasonable solution. An orderly resettlement
elsewhere of the so-called Palestinian Arabs would solve this long-standing
'intractable' problem. To propose this solution today elicits automatic
rejection by almost everyone and perhaps even anger and hostility at its very
mention (although attitudes may finally be changing). This is because the minds
of many have been so thoroughly conditioned, with layer upon layer of repeated
falsehoods, such that open-minded reconsideration is almost impossible. But
resettlement could become the basis of a win-win solution for both sides.
For example Saudi Arabia comprises some 750,000 square
miles. It has a very low population density of only 33 per square mile vs.
1,000 for Israel including the territories. A
modest 4% of Saudi Arabia , some 30,000 square miles, should be
set aside for a new Palestinian state. That state would be 13 times the size of
the present Palestinian area proposed under the Road Map and would now have
ample space for natural growth. All of the intractable problems facing both
Jews and Arabs, arising under the present schemes, would be eliminated. The
Palestinians could now construct their own state with full political
independence, self-rule and full dignity. The sources of friction between them
and Israel would now be removed along with
all the immense human and material costs associated with the current conflict.
Palestinians could begin using their
legitimate 'right of return' to exit the territories, and the refugee camps,
and migrate back to their ancestral home in Arabia and thereby also be closer
to Mecca and Medina. A fraction of the countless billions spent on weapons by
the Arab governments could fund the cost of establishing new settlements for
the Palestinians. Israel would be free of Arabs, and the
Palestinians would be free of Israel . The deep wounds of both peoples
would now have a chance to heal.
In early 2004 a poll by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion shows 37%
willing to emigrate in return for a home, a job and $250,000. And this is before a
far better deal has been offered, including true self-rule, peace and security,
plus their own ample territory. What if 'Palestinians' were offered a homeland
territory, drawn from lands donated by one of the more spacious Arab countries,
one expressing continuous concern, love for, and outrage at the treatment of
these very same folk?
Israeli Arabs could play a
constructive role in this because of their higher level of education and their
experience living as full citizens in democratic Israel . They would become the managerial
and entrepreneurial class and provide valuable assistance and leadership for
fellow Palestinians who were stagnating in refugee camps inside other Arab
countries. This crime was committed by their own brother Arabs, who refused to
allow them to settle.
Once the migration starts toward a
far better future the movement could well accelerate voluntarily because the
first ones to relocate would receive the best 'ground floor' opportunities and
the last ones to move would get what remains. Today there are tens of millions
of people on the move around the world in search of better living conditions,
so relocation is a long established and viable option for everyone.
Another important advantage is that
Israeli-Palestinian interaction would be limited to the selling of Arab homes
in the territories and an orderly exit. No more frustratingly complex
agreements as with Oslo where Israel honors all commitments and
Arabs violate all commitments, and even U.S. assurances often prove
worthless. The less need for Israel to depend on agreements with
Arabs, Europeans and even Americans the better.
Part of the problem are those Arab
governments who deliberately keep the Israel-Palestinian conflict alive to
divert attention from their own corrupt regimes. Also, western governments
still pander to their corrupt Arab clients for purely expedient reasons. But
new progressive voices are emerging among Arab intellectuals and even among
some Muslim clerics that call for Arab societal reform, and who also recognize
Jewish rights in the land of Israel . These voices need to be encouraged
and enlisted in this quest for sanity.
Another option is to set the
Palestinians in Sinai this proposal was made after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It
should be reconsidered.
What is also needed is Saudi
cooperation and active support. The Saudis have long been responsible for
promoting anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, and anti-American hatred along with
funding terror and the teaching of a hateful form of Islam. With their 'royal'
family of thousands of princes living lavishly, off of oil income and the labor
of foreign workers, they are a cesspool of corruption that even Osama bin Laden
finds offensive.
It is time to demand that the Saudis
make a major contribution to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict. They caused much
of the problem and they must now assist with the solution. It is time for the
Bush administration to make the Saudis 'an offer they can't refuse' and have
them realize they have a direct interest in providing 'land for peace'.
For too long many people have labored
under a collective mindset resembling a bad dream where big lies become
entrenched wisdom and truth is constantly strangled. Unless we change direction
there will be dire consequences extending well beyond the peoples of the
region. Those who still have minds and morals intact now have an obligation to
think clearly and with sanity and support this approach to finally resolving
the Arab-Israeli conflict.
See:
The mandates for Mesopotamia , Syria and Palestine were assigned by
the Supreme Court of the League of Nations at its San Remo meeting in April
1920. Negotiations between Great Britain and the United States with regard to
the Palestine mandate were
successfully concluded in May 1922, and approved by the Council of the League of Nations in July 1922.
The mandates for Palestine and Syria came into force
simultaneously on September 29, 1922 . In this document,
the League of Nations recognized the "historical connection of
the Jewish people with Palestine " and the
"grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country."
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