Israel, like any other nation, wants to prosper, her people want
to lead normal lives and have domestic harmony in the country.
They wish to be recognized as a state, but
considering the weaknesses, strengths, threats
and opportunities, Israel’s future might hold a future that is highly unpredictable.
The Reality
In the present world, impractical and double standards are applied to Israel’s
status quo and her governance in both external and internal politics.
‘Even-handedness’ and ‘social justice’ are some terms that are used to
evaluate several in-house policies of Israel which might not be idyllic.
Some critics believe the West Bank settlements to be an impairment to peace and that
they shouldn’t have been constructed in the captured land from the war of 1967.
However, someone reviewing the topography of Israel and its borders
in 1948 can admire how indefensible and exposed those borders were,
bearing in mind the hostility towards the Jews
and precisely the bitterness in the Middle East.
From a premeditated standpoint, settlements, to some point, do make sense – they both
institute a bulwark and stance that a return to borders before 1967 will not happen.
It can be reasoned that the people of Israel went to immoderations, but this is not a
substantial position when one cogitates the historical context of the settlements –
the Arab League’s and Palestinians’ denunciation of discussions with
Israel over borders or any other issues during the post-war period.
The Palestinian refugee problem can be considered as a distinctive one.
An important reality that cannot be denied is that these
Palestinian refugees and their lineages back in 1948
had left Israel lands when the leaders that supported
belligerence against the Jewish state had urged them to do so.
Despite this, there is hardly an expatriate
family that has been living in the camps for a
long time, as most of them have been taken in
as residents in the lands around these camps.
The issue of Palestinian refugees is being upheld
and propagated as a political inevitability
to maintain the skirmish and discord between Israel and her neighboring lands.
The refugee situation has also been used to sway the world’s attitude by
emphasizing the iniquitousness of Israel towards the Palestinian refugees
whilst modulating the authority of Palestine and the mismanagement
of the fundamentalist militant organization – Hamas.
Hopes for the Future
Although the world demands for a Palestinian
state, a two-state solution could be possible
if the second state’s citizens would be willing
to mandate for leaders that will steadfastly
lead them towards progression and work towards the
national and economic interest of the people.
The situation of Palestine is profoundly an impediment to peace.
Theirs is a political establishment that comprises of terrorist
groups whose leadership is committed to destroy Israel.
Peaceful coexistence and a two-state solution
is not what their group looks forward to.
The situation of Gaza is not one that is hidden from the world.
The world seems to have switched to a mode where they contemplate
that the Israelis are occupying what rightfully belongs to Palestine.
In 1967, when Israel chased out her assailants
it occupies West Bank, Golan Heights and Gaza.
The move was to secure her future by holding the
borders so they could be properly defended.
Taking these lands under them gave the Jews access to
Jerusalem in a better way which was quite tough before 1967.
Only if the Arabs and Palestinians would have looked forward to peace
and the fact that Israel too had the right to exist peacefully,
there would have been a negotiation and the
situations would have been much more peaceful.
Palestine would have been able to exist as a state.
However, this doesn’t seem to be the goal of the Palestinian political
organizations that have brought forth their fanatical terms and conditions.
The world clearly seems to ignore the fact that the resources
that Palestine could have used to better their economic condition
and raise the standard of living of the people living
there, have been wasted in efforts to destabilize Israel.
Palestine requires a government that will speak of peaceful co-existence.
Towards the Future
The powers of the world – US, Europe and other UN member states can propose
to the Palestinian government to recognize Israel and come to terms with her.
They should be asked to shed ties with the terrorists and be held liable for the
donations that it receives – how it is spent for the betterment of the people.
Critics may not agree to this but this could probably be a way for peace to exist.
Duplicity, hypocrisy and aggression will only fire
the on-going aggression between the two lands.
If an honest peace offering is made, Israel would open-heartedly accept the offer.
If the world remembers, Ehud Barak had almost come to terms with Yasser Arafat.
Even the then American president Bill Clinton blamed Arafat for missing an
opportunity to bring peace to the Palestinian people and give them a better life.
Arafat was looking forward to a one-state solution and not just a Palestine
and Israel state but an Arab state comprising all of historic Palestine.
The demands of Arafat were unacceptable and the world accused
him for squandering away this opportunity to bring peace.
Hamas had made the current situation worse and West Bank’s condition is
much more sensitive than what it was back when Yasser Arafat was in charge.
However, the Jews and the others still expect that negotiation
can be done by shunning hate and obstinacy in both sides.
It was the United States that had brought Israel
and Palestine together to one table before
and it is the United States that can play an important
role in the peace process between Israel and Palestine.
However, the political situations change with the change in the government
and for now the future of Israel lies in the hands of the current
administration and what they would do to bring peace to the lands of Israel.