Is Palestine Nation Worthy?

Many argue that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech last week on beginning talks for a Two-State Solution set the bar too high for the Palestinian Authority to reach. The amazing aspect of Netanyahu’s statement is that he would even consider the concept of a Two-State Solution. Look at the facts and trends involved in this issue.

Who are the Palestinians, what does that term mean? There has never in the history of the world been a country of Palestine. Palestine is a region of the Middle East just as other parts of the world has regions. It covers Israel, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, as well as portions of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon; just as in Europe there is the Alpine region and in America there is the Appalachia region. Following World War II there was an arrangement made to establish a Two-State Solution and the Arabs, not the Jews, disagreed with it and walked out on it. So why, now, after all these years, is incumbent upon the Israelis, and the world, to cave to a group of people who have traditionally never been happy with their place in the world; a place they themselves created?

But just on the off hand this Two-State Solution was to come about. If Israel did give in to this concept, will the Palestinians quit? History shows that every time Israel gets the upper hand on the militant Palestinians, the Israelis eventually give a ceasefire in order to allow the Palestinian people to recover. The only problem with these ceasefires is that instead of recovering and trying to sit down at the table to negotiate, the militants reorganize, re-supply and then re-launch their attacks against Israel. So how can the Israeli people be reassured that creating a Two-State Solution won’t just entice the militants to increase their efforts and obtain more?

Lastly, will allowing for a Two-State Solution actually create a civilized county of Palestine? No, and as an example look back to September 2005, where as part of the Oslo Peace Accords, the Gaza Strip was turned over to the Palestinian Authority to rule. Israel vacated the Strip of settlers and military and left the Palestinian Authority in complete control. Less than 18 months later, in January 2007, a civil war began between the Hamas and Fatah factions of the Palestinian Authority for control over the Gaza Strip. Fighting that has erupted several times since and the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip has been completely destroyed leaving the Gaza Strip at the mercy of aid from international agencies and, in an ironic turn of fate, from Israel.

In the end, it is imperative for the world to understand that nation building is a negative endeavor. Nations are created and destroyed by the events that shape the world, not built by countries carving up the map. Since the end of the World War II and the Cold War, It should be so obvious that nation building can not and is not a viable path by which successful countries are developed; however, many in the world still dwell on this as a viable plan for rectifying the problems in the Middle East.

Sincerely,
Bill