Israel in the crosshairs
By Charles A. Morse
web
posted October 16, 2000
Standards and customs going back to the dawn of civilization dictate that the basic purpose of sovereignty is the defense and protection of the lives and property of citizens. The murder of a citizen of a nation by a foreign force, by international law and custom, constitutes an act of war, and is a casus belli. A murder of a citizen by a foreign force within the nation constitutes a military invasion. This basic moral right of national defense must be upheld by all nations as a prerequisite for preventing a slide into anarchy.
 Israeli tank outside of Ramalla |
Israel used to understand this principal, and, as a result, was able to maintain a more secure peace for it's citizens. The Arab adversary grudgingly respected Israel as a nation which did not take acts of war lightly. The Arab's knew that Israel would respond swiftly, decisively, and without apologies to any provocation as any sane and moral nation would in a similar situation. This Israeli policy, the real peace policy, ended with the launching of the utopian "peace process" known as the Oslo accords.
It is becoming obvious to all Israeli's at this juncture, even those on the extreme left, that the Palestinians will not rest until they, and their international sponsors, destroy the sovereign Jewish State. When Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak met with Syrian diplomats at Shepardstown WV to negotiate a peace treaty and settle the Golan issue, he was stymied by the Syrian position that the entire Golan Heights must be surrendered to Syrian control before negotiations toward a peace treaty could even begin. What else would there be to negotiate?
When Barak met with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat at Camp David, he conceded half of Jerusalem and made allowances for Palestinians to move to Israel who had left prior to Israeli independence in 1948. These unprecedented concessions were rejected by Arafat who insisted on all of Jerusalem and mass settlement of Arabs into Israel. Israel extended the olive branch as far as conceivably possible and the overtures were utterly rejected.
The
Palestinian population has been overtaken by a spirit of Jew hatred, based
on the recent kristalnacht atmosphere on the West Bank, Gaza, and even
in some Israeli Arab communities. There can be no peace with such sentiments
and these sentiments will not subside. The bizarre, utopian scheme of
the Oslo Accords assumes that Israel can live peacefully with a state
that will forever call for the annihilation of Israel.
Israel must accept it's responsibility to it's citizens and act as any sane sovereign state would. Rather than engage in the demoralizing negotiating process with the Palestinians, Israel should unilaterally withdraw from Gaza and the portions of the West Bank predominantly populated by Arabs. The areas around Jerusalem and the areas more heavily settled by Israeli Jews should be annexed, borders should be unilaterally drawn, Arabs living within these borders should be given the option of Israeli citizenship, and the remaining Jewish settlements on the West Bank should be properly garrisoned.
This would neutralize the main moral case of the Palestinians with regard
to Israel which is that they are living under an occupation. This operation
could be carried out the same way as the withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
The Palestinians would have the option of declaring an independent state
and taking their place amongst the other sovereign states of the world.
If they made the unfortunate choice to behave in a warlike manner toward
Israel, the Israeli's have proven themselves perfectly capable of dealing
with this. 
Chuck Morse is the author of "Thunder out of Boston" and is a syndicated radio broadcaster and columnist.
Other related articles: (open in a new window)
- Communist tactics of the Palestinian Authority by Charles A. Morse (July 17, 2000)
- America's Middle East linchpin under siege by Steven Martinovich (September 18, 2000)