(Jerusalem Post) Zalman Shoval - A long-held view among Middle East "experts" was that the West's problematic relationship with the Arab world would have been long resolved were it not for the Palestinian issue. But it took the dramatic unraveling of the entire region and the ensuing turmoil created by the Arab Spring, the rise of al-Qaeda, ISIS and other Islamic terrorists, on the one hand, and Iran's terror promoting and destabilizing activities, on the other, to open the eyes of most of the world as to the real causes of the Middle East situation. Moreover, most Palestinian Arabs do not see the creation of a Palestinian state in parts of "Palestine" as their real aim, but rather the total disappearance of the State of Israel. Israel must never forget David Ben-Gurion's and Ze'ev Jabotinsky's dictum that only the Jewish state's own capability to defend itself would assure its security and eventually bring about peace. The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.
2016-10-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive