(Forward) Einat Wilf - For several weeks, people in Gaza have been marching on its borders with Israel with the declared intent of marching into Israel and exercising what the Palestinians consider their absolute and superior "Right of Return." While many in the West have explained away the Palestinian statement about "return" as an expression of anger at the deteriorating conditions in Gaza and the maritime blockade, the Palestinians have not marched for any of these issues. If they had, they would have stormed the Gaza border with Egypt. What they demand is "return." Having failed to prevent the UN partition vote diplomatically, and having failed to prevent Israel's emergence militarily, the demand for "return" was shaped as a continuation of the war against Israel by other means, a war that continues to this day. If the war is ever to end with true peace, the Palestinians as well as the Arab and Islamic world at large have to come to accept the Jewish people as an indigenous people who have come home and who have an equal and legitimate right to their ancestral land. This is the core issue. Former Knesset member Dr. Einat Wilf served on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
2018-05-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive