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A New Strategy for Israeli Victory

(Commentary) Daniel Pipes - Rejection of Israel drives not just Palestinian politics but much of Palestinian life. Palestinian rejection or acceptance of Israel is binary: yes or no, rendering compromise nearly impossible. Either Palestinians give up their century-long rejection of the Jewish state or Zionists give up their 150-year quest for a sovereign homeland. Deterrence, that is, convincing Palestinians and the Arab nations to accept Israel's existence by threatening painful retaliation, underlay Israel's strategic vision from 1948 to 1993. Before the Oslo Accords of 1993, residents of the West Bank and Gaza could travel locally without checkpoints and access work sites within Israel. They benefited from the rule of law and an economy that more than quadrupled without depending on foreign aid. Oslo led not to the hoped-for end of conflict but to inflamed Palestinian ambitions to eliminate the Jewish state. More Israelis were murdered in the five years after Oslo than in the 15 years preceding it. Yitzhak Rabin expected the conflict to be concluded through goodwill, conciliation, mediation, flexibility, restraint, generosity, and compromise, topped off with signatures on official documents. In this spirit, his government and all its successors agreed to a wide array of concessions, even to the point of permitting a Palestinian militia, always hoping the Palestinians would reciprocate by accepting the Jewish state. They never did. Israeli efforts to "make peace" were received as signs of demoralization and weakness. The historical pattern suggests that Israel has just one option to win Palestinian acceptance: a return to its old policy of deterrence. Deterrence requires systemic policies that encourage Palestinians to accept Israel and discourage rejectionism. It requires a long-term strategy that promotes a change of heart. When enough Palestinians abandon the dream of eliminating Israel, they will make the concessions needed to end the conflict. Palestinians are mired in misery and constitute the most radicalized population in the world. Which other parents celebrate their children becoming suicide bombers? Which other people gives higher priority to harming its neighbor than improving its own lot? A skilled and ambitious people is locked into political repression, failed institutions, and a culture celebrating delusion, extremism, and self-destruction. Unleashed from a genocidal obsession with Israel, Palestinians can become a normal people and develop their polity, economy, society, and culture. Negotiations could finally begin in earnest. But Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy is premature until Palestinians accept the Jewish state. The writer is president of the Middle East Forum.
2016-12-23 00:00:00
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