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Whose land for peace?

Reader comment on item: Have Israelis Finally Learned the Strategic Value of Territory?

Submitted by Halley Faust (United States), Jan 7, 2009 at 14:28

Perhaps there is a fourth option: see my editorial in the Connecticut Jewish Ledger from 2003:

Come on Egypt and Jordan – Give a Little

Halley S. Faust

January 20, 2003

Prior to 1977 it was the avowed desire of the Arab nations to eliminate Israel from the map. Israelis wanted peace. They wanted it originally based on the 1947 UN Mandate which would have created a Palestinian state and a much smaller Israel than existed from 1948 to 1967. The Arabs refused.

Israel wanted peace in 1967 before they decidedly defeated the attacking Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian armies. The Arabs refused. They wanted peace in 1973 when in the costly Yom Kippur war they could have completely destroyed the attacking Egyptian army. The Arabs refused.

When Sadat went to Jerusalem the Israelis made peace. To this day they have upheld their end of the agreement, even though it meant evacuating (and physically fighting) with some of their own citizens who were settlers in the Sinai desert.

When King Hussein of Jordan wanted peace in 1994, the Israelis signed a treaty; both sides have abided by that treaty. Since 1994 the Israelis have been willing to form peace treaties with Syria and Lebanon. Lebanon has been unwilling to come to the table. Syria has not done so in good faith.

It is clear the Israelis want peace. It is clear they are willing to go to great lengths to achieve it, including fighting their own citizens. They have sought peace since long before the establishment of their state.

So for the Arab countries as a whole to complain that their own lack of democracy is because of the Israel-Palestine conflict that's a joke.

If the Palestinian Authority were a willing partner, it would have upheld its part of the Oslo Accords and the Interim Agreement of 1995, which clearly called for one Palestinian Police force, the arresting and prosecuting of all "individuals who are suspected of perpetrating acts of violence and terror", and the systematic acting against "all expressions of violence and terror."

Instead, the PA incited the current intifadah and gave refuge to terrorists and murderers. At last count there were nine Palestinian police forces.

It is clear that Arafat and his ilk have blown their chance, the result of which has been the murder of innocent women and children on both sides of the border. It is also clear that borders resembling the pre-1967 armistice borders are unworkable, leaving Israel only 9 miles wide at its most vulnerable point. At this point, the Palestinians and Israelis need physical separation.

As stated in the 1978 Israel-Egypt Camp David peace agreement, "Peace requires respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." In order to get to this feeling of security there needs to be sufficient land to establish a buffer between those who refuse to accept peace and those who do.

So, here's my suggestion: Jordan and Egypt have plenty of land – together they have 39 times the land mass of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. For Israel to feel secure it needs a buffer zone. For Gaza and the West Bank to feel secure and flourish they need more land – they will soon run out of comfortable living space given their large population growth rates.

"Land for peace" should come not just from the Israelis, but from all the parties in the region. So, Egypt and Jordan, give up a little. You have 422,000 square miles of land, compared with Israel's 8,500 and the West Bank and Gaza's 2,312. How about giving the West Bank and Gaza just 0.5% from the relatively unpopulated Sinai Desert and the Jordan Valley? Then the Israel-Palestinian boundaries can be adjusted for Israel to feel secure, and Palestine to have land in which to grow.

When Jews settled in what is now Israel they had to drain the swamps, plant trees, put in irrigation, and work the land, all under the constant threat of Arab violence and without the rest of the world's help. Palestinians might have to work hard to make their new lands inhabitable, but certainly no harder than their unlivable current circumstances, and they could convert the $300 million per year the UN gives them (two-thirds from the US) into permanent resettlement. And they'd be able to do it fighting amongst themselves, like the Israelis do, rather than fighting Israel.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (40) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Could Mr Pipes or anyone help me understand why [623 words]Marcella, USJan 7, 2009 15:38147331
stop the misunderstanding on muslims attitude especially on martyrdorm [228 words]maiyangJan 9, 2009 00:45147331
ARAB EMIGRATION [135 words]CaroleJan 24, 2009 13:18147331
Whose land for peace? [757 words]Halley FaustJan 7, 2009 14:28147322
Media, the Craven Enemy of Humanity -- Ignores Legal Definition of "Disproportionate" and Uses the Sound Bite to Disinform -- Dore Gold Clarifies [205 words]Sofa SogoodJan 6, 2009 07:50147117
No No out-of-context givebacks! [87 words]MelMJan 5, 2009 23:50147089
Israel, That Special Country [241 words]JayJan 5, 2009 20:20147070
Mazel Tov but.. has Ehud Olmert learnt from the mistakes of 2006? [292 words]ShishirJan 5, 2009 13:50147025
Civilian populations enable terrorists [288 words]MichaelJan 5, 2009 12:18147020
The Withdraw for the Sinai was a terrible mistake ( and when many unsolvable problems began ) [69 words]James BurkeJan 5, 2009 10:51146996
Have Israelis Finally Learned that giving up their land which the LORD God has given them is not theirs but Gods! [155 words]VigilantJan 5, 2009 10:30146990
Prove to me that religion is true [74 words]Badr HariJan 9, 2009 15:33146990
Massacre of Israelis [104 words]CaroleJan 24, 2009 12:57146990
Israel should not give up one acre of land...Ever! [91 words]Ames TiedemanJan 5, 2009 09:17146977
i hope israel is not giving up any land [28 words]thomasMar 3, 2010 19:28146977
The Morality of War [173 words]Ralph C Whaley MDJan 5, 2009 08:17146968
Territory [18 words]PhillipJan 5, 2009 07:33146965
Self-defense [168 words]Jolly JackJan 5, 2009 05:31146955
Hamas Out? PA In [325 words]Prof. Paul EidelbergJan 5, 2009 03:11146945
Media, the Craven Enemy of Humanity -- Ignores Definition of "Disproportionate" and Uses the Sound Bite to Disinform -- Dore Gold Clarifies [206 words]Sofa SogoodJan 5, 2009 02:47146942
Disproportionality of Israeli Response ? [349 words]Stephen HughesJan 4, 2009 15:41146884
Disproportionality -- Nonsense [39 words]Romesh ChanderJan 5, 2009 01:45146884
What is a proper proportion in warfare? [75 words]Seamus MacNemiJan 5, 2009 16:59146884
Maximum terror/minimum damage has its advantages (for Hamas) [131 words]MelMJan 5, 2009 17:37146884
Fresh Thinking is Needed [822 words]Steve BermanJan 4, 2009 10:28146863
I wish, but it misses the point: RELIGION [990 words]der AlleswisserJan 4, 2009 20:19146863
If Egypt were to possess Gaza... [48 words]Matthew C. MasottiJan 3, 2009 16:29146765
Egypt does not want any part of Gaza [112 words]Romesh ChanderJan 5, 2009 01:41146765
It's not just about territory [134 words]Fred SchlomkaJan 3, 2009 10:38146744
Have Israelis Finally Learned the Strategic Value of Territory? [2739 words]Tess McNamara B.A. Women's Studies, B.A Family Studies, Student of Islam....(Australia)Jan 3, 2009 04:38146716
Magnanimous Speech. [195 words]SvetlanachkahJan 4, 2009 14:34146716
Bravo Tess! You survived the liberal, academic community, [15 words]Kerry L. WinnJan 5, 2009 08:46146716
All good points except [38 words]ShishirJan 5, 2009 13:37146716
Palestinian People Must Feel the Pain [142 words]John HarrisJan 2, 2009 22:02146698
flaws in the argument [91 words]yuval BrandstetterJan 4, 2009 13:02146698
A brilliant observation Mr. Harris and so true [122 words]Seamus MacNemiJan 6, 2009 09:20146698
Mr. Pipes: I asked you years ago to not use the misnomer. "War on Terror " as there is no such thing. [77 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Steve BorkowskiJan 2, 2009 16:32146671
Land for Peace policy [114 words]Jon PurizhanskyJan 2, 2009 11:54146656
What about Sinai [61 words]WayneJan 2, 2009 04:14146637
No Wayne [35 words]Kerry L. WinnJan 5, 2009 08:50146637

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