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Dispelling Common Myths about the Proposed Palestinian State

(Jerusalem Post) - Zalman Shoval Many regard the question of Palestinian statehood in terms of "inevitability," i.e., that there won't be a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict without it. That was also the gist of President Bush's June 24 speech. Let us examine some of the conventional wisdoms with regard to Palestinian statehood: A disarmed Palestinian state - Prime Minister Sharon and others who support statehood in principle speak about a neutralized and disarmed entity. Yet the Palestinian Authority has never lived up to its commitment with regard to illegal arms, let alone to severing its links with terrorist and terrorist-supporting forces. Why should it be easier to enforce all those limitations once the Palestinians have achieved full sovereignty? Two states for two peoples - Large parts of the Arab and Muslim worlds, including no small number of Palestinians, have not yet come to accept the Jewish people's right to a national homeland in a region which they claim to be theirs alone, and they would regard a Palestinian state alongside Israel as a temporary stage toward creating a Palestinian state instead of Israel. A mere two years ago, former prime minister Ehud Barak offered Yasser Arafat 98% of the "territories," including most of east Jerusalem plus 3% of Israel proper, only to be rebuffed by the PA chairman, who then went on to unleash the al-Aksa Intifada which has already caused more than 700 Israeli deaths. A democratic, stable, and viable Palestinian state - One may wonder how "viable" economically, demographically, politically, etc., such a mini-state would actually be, especially in light of the fact that there doesn't exist a single Arab state to which any of the above definitions could easily apply. Solving the Palestinian problem - The real Palestinian problem has to do with the cruel reality of millions of "refugees" who have been languishing in camps, often under inhuman conditions, for over 50 years, among their inhospitable brethren in the various Arab states. The planned Palestinian mini-state isn't going to absorb even a fraction of those artificially and deliberately perpetuated "refugees." Instead of saying either "Yes" or "No" to the Quartet's unrealistic road map, Israel would be better advised to think about a road map of its own.
2003-01-30 00:00:00
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