The Interview: Explaining the Latest Israel-Palestinian Controversy (Satire but Very Close to Actual Experience)
Journalist: Professor Rubin, why is Israel making a two-state solution impossible by building 3000 apartments in east Jerusalem?
Me: In 1993, Israel signed an agreement with the PLO in which there was no ban whatsoever on Israel building more buildings on existing settlements.
The Palestinians formed a government that received political control over all the towns and villages of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It agreed that Israel would continue to control Jerusalem. The two sides further agreed that the political status of these territories would be changed only through a mutual peace treaty.
In 2000, the Palestinian Authority (PA) rejected the offer of a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem living in peace alongside Israel.
Instead it launched a war against Israel whose main feature was terrorist attacks on Israel civilians.
A few months later, it rejected an even better offer of peace with a Palestinian state having its capital in east Jerusalem on the exact amount of territory that constituted the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem before 1967.
Ever since then, for 12 years now, Palestinian leaders have repeatedly said they no longer accepted a two-state solution, or at least would soon stop doing so.
Israel withdrew from the entire Gaza Strip and dismantled all the settlements there in order to encourage the Palestinians to move toward a two-state solution by developing that area and showing they were willing to live in peace. Instead, Hamas took over, openly declared its rejection of all previous agreements, that it would never accepted the two-state solution, fired rockets and missiles at Israel, put on television programs teaching children that they should grow up to be suicide bombers, and that all Jews in the world be murdered.
Despite these positions of Hamas, the Palestinian Authority has tried endlessly to make a deal bringing Hamas into the government, a government that would have to be based on a platform rejecting any real, lasting two-state solution.
This policy was continued after the 2008-2009 and 2012 Hamas escalations to war with Israel.
For more than a half-dozen years the PA has refused to negotiate seriously with Israel.
PA schools teach that Israel should be wiped off the map; sermons in PA-controlled mosques say that Israel should be wiped off the map; PA officials demand that eventually Israel be wiped off the map.
Those who murdered Israeli civilians are glorified by the PA, which names schools, squares, and soccer tournaments after them.
When Israel, at U.S. request, froze all construction for ten months, the PA refused to negotiate seriously.
For the last three years, the PA has concentrated all of its efforts on abandoning a negotiated two-state solution and getting their own state without making any such commitment. Now, the UN — including many European countries — has helped them achieve a non-member state status. Thus, due to Palestinian action the 1993 Israel-PLO agreement has been killed, every deal made since then abrogated, every concession and risk taken by Israel during this period has been deprived of anything in return.
Remember also that if the PA were to negotiate a peace deal with Israel, all the settlements on Palestine’s territory would be dismantled. So if construction upsets them so much, why don’t they stop it permanently by making a peace deal? You know who made this exact same point? King Hussein of Jordan. And that was in 1986. They ignored him.
your readiness to uproot and expel Jews on an unthinkably horrible scale 35 times larger than the 9,000 driven from their homes, towns, schools, synagogues, farms, and businesses in Gaza, lock stock and barrel, their exhumed dead included, in order to benefit Israel’s enemies and their implacable, genocidal hatred for Jews, enemies who would gladly do that filthy rotten deed themselves if only they were able, is REVOLTING.
But that would be only on condition of a real, sincere peace agreement, you would reply. Well, ask yourself whether Jews can survive, or even sustain themselves after such a bizarre act of national self-mutilation. Never mind, your answer is, of course we can. Sorry, we can’t. For all your sagacity and understanding, this is your blind spot. It’s something you can’t, won’t, and will never understand, a sacrifice to your bloodthirsty, false Moloch of peace.
Wise up, why don’t you?
You’re too learned for the good of your fellow Jews.
Thanks for saving me the time of writing a comment.
You are 100% correct.
To “Sorry Dr. Rubin, but” and “Terry Elat-Israel” So, you two have given up. I haven’t, and neither have the majority of Israelis.
The Gaza situation is over and done with, whether we agreed or not — I personally did not — but it was done and Sharon is still in a coma.
It’s time to move on, we have other concerns.
Manni
your readiness to uproot and expel Jews on an unthinkably horrible scale 35 times larger than the 9,000 driven from their homes, towns, schools, synagogues, farms, and businesses in Gaza, lock stock and barrel, their exhumed dead included, in order to benefit Israel’s enemies and their implacable, genocidal hatred for Jews, enemies who would gladly do that filthy rotten deed themselves if only they were able, is misguided.
But that would be only on condition of a real, sincere peace agreement, you would reply. Well, ask yourself whether Jews can survive, or even sustain themselves after such a bizarre act of national self-mutilation. Your answer is, of course we can. Sorry, we can’t. For all your sagacity and understanding, this is your blind spot. It’s something you can’t, won’t, and will never understand, it’s a sacrifice to your false Moloch of peace.
Wise up, why don’t you? You’re too learned for the good of your fellow Jews.
Mr. Rubin–
You just don’t get it. Israel is a first world nation, and the Palestinians are third worlders. Because the Israelis are more prosperous than them, it must be because the Israelis have and are oppressing them. End of analysis–all evidence to the contrary has been dropped into the memory hole and it is considered to be in poor taste to go rummaging around in it. Its the ideological equivalent of dumpster diving. You need to stop doing this.
/s
Excellent article, pity few governments who voted to give non-member status at the UN to the Palestinian Authority read it. Of course I am assuming those governments have leaders who can read.
Hamas threw Fatah guys off the top of high rises, but Fatah is willing to make peace with Hamas instead of Israel.
to make peace with Hamas because they know Hamas will kill them otherwise
they have no such concerns about Israel
the concern there is, if they make peace then Israel won’t feed them anymore
I thought that the point of settlements was “facts on the ground.” If Israel hasn’t, it should take the position that no settlements can ever be removed. Their growth is due to the lack of a treaty with the Palestinians. The longer they wait, the smaller their territory will be. The Arabs make a weapon out of their cultural quirk of not recognizing cause and effect because Allah controls all. But there is no reason why the rest of us should sign on to this foolishness. There are consequences to actions. No negotiations, no agreement means their future territory gets smaller.
When I read through other comments here, I get perplexed. Sometimes I think I have to re-read the article, has my brain gone blank? Unfortunate to note quite a number refuse to take the honesty of the words written here. Well, Prof. Rubin, you are writing with extreme care and I agree to your observations. More power, Yeshua bless you.