In a previous post I pointed out that media discussion about that portion of Israel that was once occupied by Jordan seems to assume that history started in 1967. There’s another aspect to this. people (and institutions, like the UN and EU) tend to also forget that resolutions that call for negotiations between Israel and “Palestine” have huge problem to get past even before they start. The Palestinian Authority says it supports a two=state solution, but its’ education system and media constantly work to promote only a single, Arab, state.The Hamas rulers in Gaza don’t even pretend. Cease fire arrangements between Hamas and Israel are only arranged thru a third party, usually Egypt. It is hard for me to see any way there could be any kind of negotiations when one side refuses to recognize the other. Oh, Yes, you should remember that the idea of withholding recognition is not new. It was one of the three Noes of the Arab League following the Six Day War: No Peace, No recognition, No negotiation.
It isn’t easy for any Arab politician to discard the idea of “Freeing Palestine”. This is especially true because many Arab countries are not truly democratic and do not respond to wishes of an electorate. But even Arab autocratic rulers can recognize reality. When it looks like might be in their interest, Arab states can make peace with Israel. Egypt and Jordan have done so. And more recently Bahrein, the UAE, Morocco, and Sudan have also taken the leap. The ones that are still unwilling to grant Israel real recognition are Hamas, Iran, and the Palestinian Authority. The latter actually operates in a cooperative relationship with Israel, but steadfastly refuses to accept any form of recognition of true Israeli sovereignty in any part of what was once the Mandate of Palestine. Until that happens, probably the best we can hope for is something akin to the current status quo.
Beyond Israel’s borders there are other threats. Iran is a large Islamic state with apparent ambitions to be THE regional power. To further that end they have been (and are still) working to develop nuclear weapons. Such weapons are an existential threat to Israel, and to the rest of the world, as well. Negotiations have not delayed them. Threats of action, and even actual sanctions, have, so far, failed to halt them. In addition, they are willing to use terrorism to further their plans. They actively support terrorist regimes like Hamas in Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. The whole world knows they have solid contacts with the dictatorship of Assad in Syria, and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. I am certain the drones used to attack the home of the Iraqi Prime Minister last week were actually controlled by the Iranians.
Meanwhile, the world also continues to blame Israel for everything. Antisemitism is on the rise, and we are all treated to circuses surrounding the very real problems of Global Warming and the Corona Pandemic. With the help of the Almighty we’ll get past all of those. And his help will very likely be much needed.
Wetherhorn 