Indigenous Australian Nyunggai Warren Mundine has written an important op-ed in the Australian Financial Review, following Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Australia.
So I was disappointed that, during Netanyahu’s visit, Labor luminaries Bob Hawke, Kevin Rudd and Gareth Evans called on Australia to formally recognise a Palestinian state. Symbolic recognition of a state when none exists is a hollow gesture that doesn’t confront the elephant in the room: Palestinian leadership doesn’t really support a two-state solution. Likewise, most Arab nations. They won’t recognise Israel’s right to exist.
The partition plan was a compromise in the face of Arab opposition to a Jewish state. Jews accepted the partition. Arabs didn’t, wanting an Arab state only. Arab nations immediately invaded Israel. Israel won that war, gaining territory. Arab nations invaded Israel again unsuccessfully in 1967. Israel again gained territory, including East Jerusalem and the West Bank (from Jordan) and Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula (from Egypt). Israel offered to return everything except East Jerusalem in exchange for recognition. Arab leaders refused, resolving instead to assist Arabs in those territories to resist Israel.
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In 2005 Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, removing all settlements and handing control to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Gaza fell to Hamas who pursued its objective of destroying Israel. So Israel blockaded Gaza, allowing only humanitarian aid. Under Hamas, manufacturing and agriculture collapsed, unemployment rose to global highs and the economy fell into ruins. Gaza could have industry, trade and people commuting to Israel for work. Instead its people dig tunnels, plan suicide bombings and fire rockets.
Read the whole thing. Nyunggai Warren Mundine shows he understands history.
Update: Over 5 years ago, he stood up to the BDS-holes.
