It seems as if the world is tired of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Prior to recent events at the UN initiated by the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, Western values of fairness and compromise have been the basis for policy makers in successive administrations whether in Israel, the United States, or in Europe. Common wisdom till now has been the belief in sorting out differences and bringing both sides to share a common goal; that a viable and contiguous Arab (Palestinian) state within Judea and Samaria (West Bank) alongside Israel is the only solution to the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Re-partitioning of the land has been the guiding mantra, give each side less than they demand but more than the opposing side is willing to concede, and walla, this is the logical compromise.
This scenario of "and they all lived happily ever after" was finally put to rest with the recent UN bid by Muhammad Abbas, who in his own words proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that this view is naïve and outdated in that it ignores the dynamics and history of the conflict culminating last month at the UN. Whether it be the ongoing and never ending Arab terror, or stagnant Arab economies that cannot even produce a world class bicycle, or dictatorial and brutal Arab governments, or absolutist Islamic claims, or the refusal of the Arabs to negotiate directly with Israel as the homeland of the Jewish nation; or accelerating demographics changes among the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria, or fundamental security concerns rooted in the existential defense needs resulting from the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars, and not least of all, the fact that the Arabs have rejected more generous partition plans in the far past and in the recent past then they could hope to achieve today making any reasonable scenario of a negotiated settlement highly unlikely. The PA has spent all of President Obama’s term in the White House disappointing a President who has been more than eager to pressure Israel to capitulate. But Obama’s desire to pick fights with Netanyahu and to bring a unilateral Palestinian Arab state into being has been frustrated by the simple fact that PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has no intention of signing any peace deal.
Adding to this dismal picture we have the Arab spring which has enabled the Arab masses to express their true feelings unperturbed, they hate Israel and they hate the Jews. Muammar Gaddafi’s toppling, Mubarak’s trial, Assad turning Syria into a slaughterhouse, and Turkey going back in time to the Ottoman sultanate have all enabled the true Arab voice to be heard for all to hear, the masses in the Arab street everywhere in the Middle East do not want to make peace with Israel. The Arab spring has showed us that the Arabs of the region hate us and that peace treaties with them are temporary in nature.
The considerable ambiguity displayed by Israel over the years regarding the future status of Judea and Samaria has only encouraged the Arabs to believe that annexation is not a serious strategic option for Israel. Only the gradual extension of Israeli sovereignty and laws and the actual annexation of Judea and Samaria can bring an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Arab population that will continue to reside inside the new borders of the State of Israel and will enjoy full human rights awarded by the State of Israel. Israel's sovereignty will ensure security stability preventing Judea and Samaria from being turned into an additional Islamic threat that can threaten Israel and the stability of neighboring Arab regimes.
For many years Israel has been deterred from annexing Judea and Samaria because of the fear of reducing the Jewish majority within the borders of the State of Israel. The great wave of immigration from the countries of the former Soviet Union, stability in the birth rate of the Jewish sector, and a decreasing birth rate in the Arab sector, have considerably shrunk the demographic threat and have turned it from an existential threat to a problem that can be solved.
A comprehensive program for the rehabilitation of Arab refugees, will totally remove the demographic threat from the State of Israel as a Jewish State. The extension of Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria will also bring in its wake a significant change in the composition of the population and would lead to a more normal distribution of the Jewish population only minutes from the Greater Tel-Aviv area and Jerusalem.
Israel can and should change its outdated and ambiguous policy of inaction and gradually extend full sovereignty to all Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria, including State Land and areas necessary for defense and security. Extending Israeli sovereignty expresses the connection between the Jewish people and its ancient homeland, a resounding statement of Zionism's meaning and purpose. Such a step is consistent with binding international law incorporated in League of Nations, British Mandate, US Congressional and United Nations Resolutions; it fulfills the historic role of the State of Israel, and legal and moral obligations to its citizens and the Jewish People. Sustainable Peace between Israel and the Arabs of the region can only be achieved by eliminating the archaic and ineffective policies of forfeiting our national rights. Gradual annexation of Judea and Samaria will send the necessary message to our Arab neighbors that Israel is here and plans to remain here forever. This message alone will bring the Arabs to make peace with Israel.