By Dr. Steve Carol
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Again and again one hears and reads ("A Rabbinic Response to President Carter," Jewish News, Jan. 12, 2007) the often repeated mantra that the (emphasis added) solution to the ongoing 135+ year Arab-Muslim war against the Jewish people in the Land of Israel is a "two-state solution." U.S. policy for a generation has stressed an Israeli and Palestinian Arab state "living side-by-side in peace and security." Would that be the case. Yes, it is a goal of the current Israeli government, the same government that unilaterally retreated from Gaza and for its trouble has received constant rocket bombardment and terrorist threat from that territory. Simply put a "two-state" solution can only occur if both (emphasis added) parties genuinely want that.
This conveniently forgets the historic fact that since 1921 there have been two states formed out of the original British Mandate of Palestine which was to be the Jewish National homeland. The larger of these, 35,468 sq. miles (out of 46.339 sq. miles) - some 77% of the original British Mandate, is now called "Jordan" -- a state artificially created by Winston Churchill in late March 1921. Churchill would boast "I created Trans-Jordan [now Jordan] with the stroke of a pen on a Sunday afternoon in Cairo." At first, Emir (later King) Abdullah I, wanted to call his kingdom "Palestine" but the British discouraged him of that idea stating that the name "Palestine" smacked of imperialism. Some 80% of Jordan's population is Palestinian Arab.
The remaining 23% of the original mandate became the re-established State of Israel and after open Arab aggression, three regions came under Arab occupation: Gaza, under Egyptian military control, and Judea and Samaria, what the Arabs would soon name "West Bank," unilaterally annexed by Trans-Jordan.
Thus, more precisely, the present day calls for a "two state" solution actually mean a "three state" solution. The Palestinian Arabs will have TWO states, Jordan and the yet to be declared "Arab state of Palestine." But is that the final real intention of the Arab-Muslim side in the conflict?
Since its formation in May 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in its covenant has called for a "one-state solution" -- a "Falastin" from "min al nahr ila al-bahr" (from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea). Such a state would encompass present day Israel, Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. It would mean no more Israel. There is strong evidence to support the contention that such a Palestinian Arab state would also encompass Jordan. The events of September 1970 -- "Black September" -- and the subsequent Jordanian civil war came close to a PLO victory over the Hashemite monarchy of King Hussein. The Hamas Charter echoes this desire for a one-state solution, as do the official pronouncements from Hezbollah, Al Fatah, Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Brigades. They all aspire to eliminate Israel, but they choose different tactics to get the desired result.
Furthermore all Palestinian Arab groups demand as a sine qua non, "haq al-auda" (the right of return). In this manner the Jewish state would be demographically overrun by anyone claiming to be a "Palestinian Arab," ensuring the destruction of the Jewish state.
It is long overdue that talk of a "two state" solution be exposed for what it really is. Two states, one Jewish, the other Arab already exist within the boundaries of the original British Mandate. To promote a "three state" solution for two peoples, especially when the Arabs already have 21 sovereign states in existence, is folly.
Now, there is serious talk of allowing the Israeli Arabs, many of whom consider themselves "Palestinian" Arabs, to have their own autonomy or perhaps join a new Palestinian state. Thus there would be a "three-and-a-half state" solution, with the half being the rump of an ever-shrinking Jewish state. The Arabs have long demanded a return to the June 4, 1967 lines, with calls by some already publicly demanding a return to the 1947 U.N. Partition plan borders. Given a three and a half state solution, Israel would be reduced to the 1937 Peel Commission partition recommendation -- a nation 120 miles long and between 38 and 9 miles wide.
In their eagerness to promote and force a "two state" solution to the conflict, the United States, the European Union, the Israeli left, and many other nations are not going to achieve peace. Rather they guarantee more war as the Arabs -- the Palestinian Authority and its PLO components, Hamas, Hezbollah, and their Arab-Muslim supporters continue their drive -- militarily, politically, economically, and diplomatically -- to achieve their true goal -- a "final solution" -- a one state solution with Israel eradicated from the map!
Dr. Steven Carol
Prof. of History (retired)
Official historian on The Middle East Radio Forum www.middleeastradioforum.org
Senior Fellow: Center for Advanced Middle East Studies www.camesinfo.com
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