The real obstacle to a Palestinian state

Putting aside the fact that granting statehood to a Palestinian state, right now, would be tantamount to rewarding terrorism – the claim that such a step would ‘fulfill the Palestinian dream of an independent state’ is an outrageous lie.

Let’s apply some facts and a bit of historical perspective:

Firstly, there are actually two Palestinian territories. One is located in the Gaza Strip and was ruled by Hamas up until October 2023. The other is located to the east of Israel, in the area known as the West Bank, and governed by an organisation called Fatah. These territories aren’t directly related and operate very differently. Hamas, in particular, has repeatedly rejected the idea of two-states and, instead, has been very clear in its stated goal of wiping Israel off the map.

Despite this, Israel has come to the negotiating table many times in the past – but its offers to work with the Palestinian leaders to establish a Palestinian state have all been rejected. For example, in 2000, Israel made a groundbreaking offer which included roughly 97 percent of the West Bank; all of Gaza, where Israel still had settlers; and a capital in East Jerusalem. However, the then Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, spurned the proposal and, instead, ignited a strategic onslaught of suicide bombings against Israel that became known as the Second Intifada. This lasted for four-and-a-half years and ended with the death of 1,000 Israelis and more than 3,000 Palestinians.

This was just one of many opportunities to create a Palestinian state – all of which have been rejected by the Palestinian side.

Parties negotiating on behalf of the Palestinian people were offered a state at the 1937 Peel Commission, the 1947 UN Partition Plan, the 1967 Khartoum Summit, the 1991 Madrid Conference, the 2001 Arab Summit, the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza by Israel, the 2007 Annapolis Conference, the 2008 Realignment Plan, the 2010 Joint Peace Talks, the 2013 Joint Peace Talks, the 2019 Bahrain Workshop and the 2020 Trump Peace Plan.

Let me repeat – all of these offers were rejected by the Palestinians – not Israel.

Why? Because the Palestinian leadership isn’t interested in a ‘two state solution’. They go through the motions of pretending to be interested because they know that this is what pleases their foolish supporters in the west – but every offer is always rejected because their real goal is the destruction of Israel in its entirety.

As such, the latest pitch for statehood and UN membership can be seen for what it is – gameplaying and a pitch for the ongoing sympathy of the naive and gullible in the west.

NO proposal for Palestinian statehood should even be countenanced until Hamas has been eliminated – and even then, any deal must have the full support of Israel. Anything less is unacceptable.

If you really want to understand what’s going on in Israel and Gaza, read my easy-to-understand article at www.voicesforisrael.co.nz.