(Al-Monitor) Zvi Hauser - The territory intended for the Palestinian state was the "formative territory" of the Jewish people, where Jewish civilization took shape, where Jewish peoplehood was cast and where the "Book of Books" was composed and recorded. The historical and cultural relationship between Judea and Samaria and the Jewish people is not the same as the relationship between Algeria and the French or between Gibraltar and the British. While Israel has been called on to recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination and the realization of a Palestinian state, the leaders of Palestinian society refuse to recognize the Jewish people's right to national self-determination. In other words, they refuse to give up Palestinian national rights in the territory of the State of Israel. Thus, the "two-state" vision of Palestinian diplomacy consists of a Palestinian state free of any Jewish presence, alongside a binational, Jewish-Palestinian Israeli state. The Palestinians recognize the Jewish people as a religion but not as a nation with the right to self-determination. This is the Rubicon that Palestinian leaders must cross, and they must bring their people with them. Only the recognition of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people, alongside recognition of a Palestinian national state, can achieve a historic compromise that satisfies the demands of both peoples. The writer served as Israeli Cabinet secretary from 2009 until 2013.
2013-10-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive