…. On building a Palestinian state You cannot build a Palestinian state by demonising the Jewish one.
…. How peace-seeking diplomats turn a blind eye to rejectionist Palestinian ideologies
In the 1990s peace-seeking governments supported the Palestinian Authority and turned a blind eye to its financial corruption. The result was disastrous. In 2011 peace-seeking governments are supporting the Palestinian Authority. But this time they are turning a blind eye to its ideological corruption. The dangers are just as great…..
…. Why the Palestinians don’t yet have a state of their own
The Palestinians don’t yet have an independent country. But that’s not because of Israeli attitudes towards a Palestinian state. It’s because of Palestinian attitudes towards the Jewish state
….. On how the Palestinian claim for a ‘right of return’ contradicts peace
Palestinian moderates say they support peace and a two-state solution. But in the next breath they demand a ‘right of return’ for Palestinians into Israel. This is like a person announcing that he believes in smoke-free zones, and then demanding the right to smoke in it for himself and all his friends
….. Who is responsible for the security fence?
The security fence is not the inevitable outcome of Israeli policy. It is the inevitable outcome of Palestinian policy
…. on the mainstream Palestinian ‘rejection of violence’
“Palestinian mainstream leaders may have distanced themselves from actual violence. But they continue to embrace the narrative of ‘naqba’ and victimisation, which fuels that violence….”
….. On how the Palestinian Arabs became refugees
The refugee problem was not caused by the creation of Israel. It was primarily caused by the Arab world’s violent rejection of the creation of Israel
…. On the harm caused by Palestinian schoolbooks negating Israel
Palestinian schoolbooks often incite hatred towards Israel and spread the belief that the Israelis are foreign colonialists. There are few better indications of the attitudes of a society than the topics which are taught to that society’s schoolchildren….
…. on the Palestinian moderates’ desire for a two-state solution
Yes, many Palestinian moderates do support a two-state solution. But they don’t support any of the sacrifices which they will need to make in order to achieve it…..
… On Hamas and the concept of a Jewish state
… Hamas is not opposed to the existence of a Jewish state. It’s just that, in the words of their former leader Sheikh Yassin, they favour a Jewish state in Europe, not in the Middle East….
…. on Israel’s influence in the Arab world
It is not Israel which hinders democratic development in the Arab world. It is the demonisation of Israel which hinders that development…. Israel is a scapegoat for democratic failure, not the reason for that failure
…. On Yasser Arafat as a “fighter for freedom”
Yasser Arafat did not “personify the Palestinians’ fight for freedom”. Quite the opposite, he personified the failure of their fight for freedom
…. Yasser Arafat and the hopes of the Palestinian people
Yasser Arafat did not “keep alive Palestinian hopes”: far from it, he repeatedly destroyed the foundations for hope
…. On Palestinian national rights
…The Palestinians do not enjoy national rights today, not because the Jewish people created Israel, but because the Palestinians themselves rejected Israel…
… On Palestinian human rights
The struggle between Israel and the Palestinians is not about Israeli security versus Palestinian human rights. It is about Palestinian human rights against Israeli human rights – the basic human right of Israelis to life.
…. on the route of Israel’s security fence
Palestinian terrorists do not distinguish between Israeli civilians inside Israel and those beyond the Green Line. They are all targets for deliberate attack. It is those terrorists who determine the route of the security fence, not Israel.
…. on ending the occupation
It is not the Israelis who refused to end the West Bank occupation in 2000-1, but the Palestinian leadership.
… on Palestinian violence and the occupation
It is not the occupation which has caused the Palestinian violence, but the Palestinian violence which has prolonged the West Bank occupation.
…. on the suicide bombers
The Palestinian suicide bombers are struggling not for the freedom of Palestine, but for the destruction of Israel.
They do not oppose the occupation but the idea of a Palestinian state living side by side with a secure Israel.
Israeli Arabs are in greater danger from Palestinian suicide bombers than they are from Israel’s armed forces.
… on the desperation of suicide bombers
The suicide bombing campaign is not based on despair, but based on the manipulation of despair by groups who cynically plan mass murder.
…. on the election of Ariel Sharon
The election and re-election of Ariel Sharon are not the cause of the Palestinian violence, but the result of it.
… on Israel’s checkpoints and closures of the Palestinian territories
These checkpoints are not Israeli collective punishment. They are Palestinian collective self-punishment.
… on Israel ‘s security fence
Israel ‘s security fence is not the inevitable result of Israeli policies, but the inevitable result of Palestinian policies.
…. on Israel’s military measures
Palestinian violence is the cause of Israel’s military measures, not the result of those measures.
…. on the reoccupation of Palestinian towns
Far from achieving self-rule for the Palestinians, terrorism has provoked Israel into re-occupying the towns from which it withdrew in the 1990s.
Israel is not an eager occupier, but a reluctant re-occupier.
…. on the Palestinian demand for a “right of return”
The Palestinian right of return, if exercised without limit, would result not in a two-state solution but a one-state solution – no Jewish State of Israel.
If the Palestinians do not compromise on the right of return, peace will be impossible to achieve.
The ‘right to return’ is presented as a formula for “absolute justice”. In fact the ‘right of return’ is a formula for absolute stalemate and conflict without end.
… on the USA and Israel
The USA is not “biased towards Israel ” at the UN. It opposes bias against Israel at the UN….
