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Israel's Dilemma

(American Interest) Walter Russell Mead - The Palestinians now ruling Gaza (not to mention many of the "peace activists" seeking to break the Israeli blockade by sending the convoy) resolutely and fiercely oppose the two-state solution. The "right of return" of the descendants of Palestinians who fled Israel during the War of Independence remains the key demand of many Palestinians who believe that the violence must continue until they go "home." Israel cannot satisfy these Palestinians and their allies without committing national suicide. This is the essential point at issue and it has been for sixty years. A critical mass of Palestinians still wants to return to pre-1948 Israel; the Israelis won't allow it. The world of the 1940s was full of refugee problems of this kind. Roughly 12 million Germans were expelled from Poland and Czechoslovakia. Huge numbers of Hindus and Muslims fled or were expelled across the partition line between India and Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of Jews fled or were expelled from the Arab world in response to mob violence and other threats following the establishment of Israel. In no case have the refugees gone home; in every case but the Palestinian situation, the refugees found new homes for themselves and became integrated into new societies and built new lives. The world thinks Israel has a duty to make the Palestinians happy enough to make peace with concessions, but the concessions that Israel can reasonably make do not and cannot command enough support among Palestinian refugees to bring the conflict to a close.
2010-06-11 09:18:16
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