Must-Read of the Day: What do Palestinians Want from Israel?

Malaysia is a country rather antagonistic towards Israel (which I guess is not surprising for a country in which over 60% of its 30 million inhabitants are Muslim). For example, you may recall that just a few weeks ago, the Malaysian Defense Minister said they are ready to send troops to Jerusalem – to fight us!

Which makes this next piece, by a Malaysian in a Malaysian publication, quite remarkable – in addition to the fact it is extremely well written.

The United Nations decision last week to renounce President Donald Trump’s move on Jerusalem was, if nothing else, predictable (despite Trump’s threats to cut off international aid to dissenting counties, see note 1).

The late Israeli diplomat Abba Eban once commented about the United Nations General Assembly that, “If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.”

Eban saw with painful clarity the pattern of UN voting on any decision which puts Israel in a bad light.

What got me was the irony of a resolution in which it is declared that Jerusalem, the Holy City, “is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations in line with relevant UN resolutions.”

It doesn’t, however, take a history scholar to confirm the fact that it is the Palestinians who have firmly refused to negotiate with Israel on land-for-peace solutions.

The Palestinians have been offered numerous deals (and even statehood) since the crisis began more than eight decades ago but have rejected them all.

The Israeli capture of East Jerusalem happened in 1967 in a war of self-defence against about half a dozen Arab nations bent on wiping Israel off the map.

To repeat: The Arab nations sought to destroy Israel, Israel won, Israel offered peace, the Arabs said No. Let that sink in.

Another little-known fact is that immediately after Israel’s triumph, Israel agreed to comply with Resolution 242 of the United Nations Security Council which was the first resolution in history which required a nation to return territories captured in a defensive war.

It is crucial that 242 does not demand that Israel return all territories captured because it acknowledges that some territories are necessary for Israel to safeguard her boundaries.

Furthermore, the 1967 resolution declares that Israel must be granted, “the right to live in peace, secure and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force.”

But how did the Arabs respond to Resolution 242?

At the Khartoum Resolution of September 1967, the Arab nations adopted the three Nos’ statement, “No peace with Israel, no negotiations with Israel, no recognition of Israel.”

Let’s repeat this again: The Arabs started a war to exterminate Israel, Israel won, Israel offered peace and accepted UN Resolution 242, but the Arabs refused peace and, instead, declared Israel illegal (in direct violation of 242).

This is why it’s interesting to ask people who condemn Israel every other minute: What kind of proposal do you think Israel should offer the Palestinians? Or, what do the Palestinians really want?

Read the entire thing.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top