Here was my extensive comment to her note:
The article brings up good points that are routinely neglected in the typical media discourse. Here are some of the points the article brings up, plus a few.
"Palestine" also refers to the territory of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; the PLO and others want to "liberate" this, too.
The territory of Israel is considered "occupied" by the "Palestinian" leadership. The "Palestinian" leadership has never backed off from the idea that they need to "liberate" the entire region, killing or driving into the sea every single Jew there.
"Palestinian" Arabs are latecomers to the area; the Jews had the Holy Land as a homeland even after Rome changed the province's name. It was when Arabs attacked in the seventh century, waging Islamic jihad, that many Jews finally left. The Muslim Arabs built nothing, and very few stayed. As late the end of the nineteenth century, there was essentially nothing and no one there; that is why the international community agreed to establish the Jewish homeland there - they didn't have to move anybody.
Even today, most of Samaria and Judea are empty, except for a few cities.
And so on...
The Arabs keep getting clobbered every time they attack. Allah is letting them down. They know that the only chance they have is to negotiate Israel back to the 1967 "borders", and then attack from there. If they can do this, they will be able to launch their attack from the high ground overlooking the densely populated coastal plain that is the core of Israel. Arab artillery will be able to shell the whole region, Arab forces will descend to attack, and the hills of Judea and Samaria will block Israeli radar to attacking Arab military aircraft.
Israel should keep all the land the IDF has taken in repelling the Arab attacks, for security reasons, but also as a price the Arabs pay for their continued aggression. Egypt, in signing a peace treaty with Israel (which I think is now very much in jeopardy) deserved to have the Sinai returned. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan also has good relations with Israel, now, but Jordan occupied the West Bank as a result of the War of Independence. It is not really Jordanian territory; it should belong to Israel, if we are to keep with the Balfour Declaration.
Still, Israel does not want to do this. But, it is important that Israel maintain a presence in the Golan Heights and along the Jordan River. In the Golan Heights, the Syrians would currently have to ascend to attack, and the fight would be in mostly deserted land. Should Israel give up the Golan Heights, the Syrians would be able to descend to attack, shelling into populated Israeli territory. This is kind of parallel to the situation in Samaria and Judea. Currently, Israel has forces along the Jordan River. They could fight a delaying action, withdrawing up into the hills, as Israeli forces mobilized and marshalled for the defense and counterattack. Furthermore, with Israeli radars and surface-to-air missiles in the hills of the "West Bank", Israel is far less vulnerable to surprise Arab air attack coming through the airspace of Jordan. Give this up to the people who have repeatedly sworn to kill them, and the Israelis will be in real jeopardy.
The Arabs enthusiastically collaborated with the Nazis in the extermination of the Jews during World War II, and have frequently announced their desire to destroy Israel as a nation, driving its people into the sea. It is written in Islamic holy texts that Jews must be exterminated; the Muslim Arabs consider it their duty to Allah to destroy Israel and kill all Israelis. They frequently announce this intention in the media in Arabic, intended for domestic consumption; they are a little less obvious with what they say to the international community in English.
Until the Arabs change their rhetoric, both in Arabic and in English, and until they demonstrate a commitment to doing things peacefully, there can be no peace in the region. Beyond Israel, the Arabs repeatedly fight among themselves; Egypt invaded Yemen, Iraq invaded Kuwait, Jordan got tired of PLO agitation and drove the PLO out - during this latter fight, the PLO was crossing the Jordan River to surrender to Israelis so they wouldn't be murdered at the hands of their fellow Palestinian Arabs of Jordan. The problem is not Israel; it is the Arab regimes in the region.
In my opinion, Israel should never give up Judea and Samaria; it is acceptable that they allow the Palestinian Arabs in the few population centers there to rule themselves, but the uninhabited expanses of the West Bank were intended by the Balfour Declaration to belong to Israel, and Israel had to take them in self defense against one of many Arab attacks. Israel should keep Samaria and Judea regardless of any settlement.
Thanks for keeping this issue on the front burner, Tammy. Obama's recipe of withdrawal to the 1967 "borders", which echoes a proposal by Saudi Arabia, is a recipe for what the Arabs want most - an Israel vulnerable to a new war of annihilation.
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