Some New Year Thoughts Regarding I/P

I find my mind wandering over this Israeli Palestinian conflict over the New Year. I wrote something incredibly negative over at Times of Israel which I won’t be cross posting here and these words I won’t cross post over there.

I found myself typing a bunch of bullet points that came out more like principles of the conflict. I’ve been wanting for a long time to just try and lay it all out in one long list of thoughts as a precursor to a longer more comprehensive article about how Israel can move forward towards a more certain, peaceful future. I also know there are many things you guys have tended to criticise me for not saying or perhaps not making explicitly clear in my other posts. I suppose I always thought they were so obvious. To dwell on lawlessness, corruption and the general lack of anything positive coming from Palestinian politicians or so called freedom fighters struck me as pointless. Any Palestinians or pro-Palestinians would just say “obviously he would say that” and all of you guys already know about the corruption in the PA already.

I think my words mean more when they’re directed at my own government since as a voter maybe I can hit the mark with someone of influence who comes across my words. I very much doubt any Palestinian Authrity figure would stop embezzling aid money because he read words of mine calling him out on it. But here I find myself needing to just lay it all out. So here are some thoughts:

1. The majority of Palestinians have been shown not to want peace with Israel.
2. The Palestine Authority has produced material that is antisemitic, praised the killing of children and other attacks.
3. The Palestine Authority is corrupt and steals billions. As does Hamas.
4. The Palestine Authority tortures its own people, as does Hamas.
5. The Palestine Authority’s security forces cooperate with Israel.
6. Building settlements does not improve the chances of peace.
7. Building settlements increases friction with Palestinians on the ground and their security measures make their day to day lives much harder.
8. Building settlements does not help fight terror.
9. Stopping settlement building will not end this conflict, though neither will building more or expanding those that exist.
10. Sending stone throwers to prison for 20 years does not deter kids from throwing stones.
11. The IDF doesn’t require civilian settlement in the west Bank in order to secure the area.
12. If the IDF left the West Bank Hamas would take over and conduct hostile operations against Israel.
13. That there is no way to “show people” something, or teach them a lesson by killing, you will only make them hate you more that way.
14. Building in the wake of a terror attack serves no purpose.
15. The religious reason for building in the West Bank is the only reason that actually makes sense. This is a subjective reason, you believe in it or you do not. I do not. It is still the strongest argument.
16. It is better to face a weak, hostile state to the East than a hostile population from within.
17. The IDF fought it’s greatest military victory in 1967 at a time when the IDF didn’t have to worry about occupation duties.
    1. In fact if the victory of 1967 proves anything it is that the IDF can successfully protect Israel from the pre war borders
18. Demography is everything when it comes to defining Israel’s borders.
19. A Jewish state is essential for the Jewish people.
20. A Jewish state is a secular state that allows Jewish immigration and whose national religion is Judaism.
21. Democracy is the Jewish state.
22. There is no such thing as complete security.