The journalist Dan Perry doesn’t break it to them gently, but offers this memo to the Palestinian Arabs: statehood is not a right. More of his argument can be found here: “Dear Palestinians: Statehood Is Not a Right | Opinion,” by Dan Perry, Newsweek,
The catastrophe in the Middle East since Oct. 7, 2023, has reignited discussions about a Palestinian state. We are told that Saudi Arabia still conditions peace with Israel on the creation of one, and voices across the West might leave a listener thinking that anything else would be a historical abomination.
I categorically favor Israel not controlling millions of Palestinians by force, and I wish for my Palestinian friends to be happy and fulfilled; if statehood is what would do it, I’m down. But the idea of an inalienable Palestinian right to nation-state status is wobbly at best, and may be damaging to all sides.
It may be damaging because it might not be possible. When the impossible is treated as indispensable, problems follow, as they have in the 35 years since the first efforts to engineer a two-state solution. Here are the problems:
- The Holy Land is small. The heart of the place is about 100 miles of Mediterranean coastline—a temperate zone south of the Galilee hills and north of the Negev desert with an average width until the Jordan River of about 50 miles. Cramming two countries in there is hard; a pullout by Israel from the West Bank (the eastern slice of this area) would leave it 12 miles wide at the narrowest point. That would be dicey even if your region wasn’t overflowing with jihadism….
A correction to Perry’s piece: were Israel to pull out from Judea and Samaria (a/k/a the West Bank), it would not be “12 miles wide” at its narrowest point, from Qalqilya to the sea, but only 9 miles wide.
Given Israel’s experience with the Palestinian Arabs in both Gaza and in Judea and Samaria, who have conducted terrorist attacks nonstop on Israelis over the past few decades, with thousands of victims — 1,100 alone during the Second Intifada — even the leftists in Israel who, in ever diminishing numbers, still support a “two-state solution,” think that any Palestinian state must be demilitarized. But the Palestinians refuse to consider that possibility because their real goal is ultimately not the creation of a Palestinian state, existing “side-by-side”with a Jewish state. What they want is to use that state as a base from which to launch the final attack on the Jewish state, to finally conquer it, and to expel, or kill, all of its Jewish inhabitants.
- Indeed, the Palestinians are generally inflexible because they believe demography is on their side and the Jews will eventually run away. Inter alia, they demand control of half of Jerusalem, including the walled Old City—which, again, means dividing a city between countries where large minorities, especially from the Palestinian side, will want to cause mayhem with terrorism. Israel is very unlikely to ever agree to this. It’s lazy to claim this would be easy; the closest I can find to such a divided city is Nicosia, Cyprus, with not one-tenth the level of potential animosity.
The Palestinians’ faith in an inexorable demographic conquest of Israel is misplaced. The fertility rate of Israeli Jews has been consistently higher than that of Israeli Arabs since 2020, and while the fertility rate of Jews remains steady, the Israeli Arab fertility rate continues to decline.
I’ve always supported the two-state efforts and would do so again. I hold this view because the default outcome, a continuation of the status quo, is a single half-Arab half-Jewish country that will not be democratic, because the Jews will not let the West Bank and Gaza Palestinians be citizens; it also will not be at peace. But that doesn’t mean I don’t see the problems in insisting that the Palestinians must have all the trappings of a separate independent state, such as a military and an air force and full control of borders….
Dan Perry is mistaken here. The state of Israel is not now, and will never be, “half-Arab half-Jewish.” There are 7.2 million Jews, and 2.1 million Arabs, now in Israel. And the Jewish percentage of the population continues to grow, both from Jews outside making aliyah, and from the Jewish birth rate, the highest in the developed world.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
There are a lot of people who are pretty unique in various aspects – ethnic, religious, linguistic, cultural, but have no states to call their own. Tibetans, Yazidis, Assyrians, Druze, Copts, that list goes on
All these people deserve a state lot before the “Palestinians”, who are Arabs who historically were always ruled from either Damascus or Cairo. As far as modern states go, they would be a part of Jordan, as per the 1948 UN plans
somehistory says
The State of Florida has a saying from the Dept of Driver’s Licenses; “Driving is a privilege; not a right.”
One must meet certain requirements and obey all of the laws which apply in order to get and keep that privilege..
mozlums don’t want to meet any requirements or obey any laws which Israel might deem necessary for the mozlums to have even a small piece. mozlums want it *all* and they don’t deserve any.
Billy says
Islam is a MUSLIM TERRORIST ORGANIZATION(MTO) fighting against Non-Muslims and NOT A PEACEFUL religion under Western Law because Islam funds, teaches, and promotes a Terrorist, Criminal Organization with Muslims as Terrorists for Allah. Under Islamic Law, it is a Crime against Allah for Muslims to neglect performing Terrorism against Non-Muslims; Jihad means warfare against Non-Muslims to ESTABLISH THE RELIGION, ISLAM(Muslim Law Manual – “Reliance of the Traveller”, o9.0 and more). More specifically, Islam is a Muslim Terrorist Ideology and Murderous, Criminal Enterprise of intolerance, continuous war, discrimination, segregation, supremacy, genocide, polygamy, propaganda, deceit, hatred, incitement, sedition, rape, terrorism, and violence against all Non-Muslims as taught in the Quran(Quran 2:216; 4:89,95; 8:12,39,74; 9:5, 21, 29, 36, 41, 49, 88, 111, 123; 21:92; 49:15 and more).
Non-Muslims CANNOT have peace with Islam and its Muslims because Islam and its murderous god, Allah, demand a continuous Muslim war, a religious duty, against unbelievers where Non-Muslims are CRIMINALS for making WAR ON ALLAH due to UNBELIEF when Allah in Qur’an 8:39 says, “And engage in war with them[Non-Muslims] until there will not be sedition and the religion will be completely to Allah…” HENCE, NON-MUSLIMS MUST MAKE ISLAM, ITS MOSQUES, ITS SCHOOLS, ITS ORGANIZATIONS, ETC. ILLEGAL UNDER THE LAW. Similarly, Islam and its many Organizations must be identified and publicly declared to be MUSLIM TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS(MTO) for their funding, teaching, and support of terrorism, violence, and discrimination against Non-Muslims(eg. Quran 9:5,29,111 and more).
The FRUIT of Islam is incessant WAR, terrorism, discrimination, slavery, malice, ISLAMIZATION, and violence against all Non-Muslims; this FACT must be taught and broadcast to the general public to prohibit Islam, its Mosques, its Courts, and its Schools(Islamic Law – Reliance of the Traveller, 9.0- and more). Also, Islam is an Antichrist System terrorizing Israel, Christians, and Non-Muslims(Quran 3:28,54; 5:51 and more). Plus, there is NO EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW in Islam or in Islamic Law(Quran 5:51; 9:29; 98:6-7 and more). In Sahih Bukhari(V6,B60,N80), Abu Huraira narrates, “‘You(Muslims) are the best of peoples ever raised for mankind.’ means, the best of peoples for the people, as you bring them[Non-Muslims] with chains on their necks till they embrace Islam[see Quran 3:110].” See also Quran 3:22,151; 69:30-32; 98:6-7.
Western Muslims seek to expand Islam’s legality into the Non-Muslim Legal Systems and to advance Islam’s totalitarian, discriminatory goals to conquer the West. Consequently, Islam promotes a limitless, terroristic, Muslim war against unbelievers for the purpose of advancing the True Faith, ISLAM, when Allah in Qur’an 49:15 says, “Surely the believers are only those who believed in Allah and his messenger. They do not doubt, and they performed JIHAD with THEIR MONEY AND THEIR LIVES for the sake of Allah. Those are the truthful.” See also Islamic Law Manual – “Reliance of the Traveller”, o9.0- and more.
Walter Sieruk says
The people who keep chanting “Free Palestine” are chanting ignorant nonsense, that is because there is no real “Palestine” to free in the first place.
For there is not nor was there ever a genuine land that is “Palestine.” That is a modern myth.
As the following reveals …
“The land of Israel was renamed Syria Palestrina by Hadrian, the Roman Emperor. Following the second revolt against Rome in AD 132- 135. The Philistines had always been the enemy of the Jews .and as such it was an insult to the Jewish people.” [1]
It should also be added, that Hadrian had deliberately intended the renaming of Israel to be an insult and offence to the Jews.
[1] Miracle of Israel by Gary Frazier and Jim Fletcher, page 65.
Walter Sieruk says
There never in history was there a “Palestinian state.”
History reveals that the ancient Philistines recorded in the Bible and history reveals the people who came from the Greek Islands and some parts of the mainland Greece and the Island of Crete They have no connection, at all, the to the Arab /Muslim of modern times who called themselves the “Palestinians.”
From those ancient people, the Philistines, the word “Palestine” .came into being.
There is no genuine ethic group or race who are the “Palestinians.”
Early in the last century a anyone living in that land, Arab or Jew, who lived in that land was called a ”Palestinian.”
Only after 1964 did the Arab/Muslims start to refer to themselves , exclusively , by the word “Palestinian.”
The reason for that is that they felt that by giving themselves that title they would appear to have some kind of valid claim on that land.
Indeed, never in history was there a “Palestinian state.” Any claim that there should be one is an invalid and false claim.