We conquered a vacuum
Op-ed: Leftists ignore the fact that Israel did not conquer a country in 1967 war
Why kid ourselves? Undoubtedly, there is a certain connection between the upcoming elections and the government's plans to adopt the Levy Report's recommendations.
Before the polls open, Netanyahu is returning to the warm embrace of the Right. He kind of distanced himself from the Right over the past few years, but it is never too late to reconcile and go back home. In contrast to leftist rhetoric, Judea and Samaria is also home.
And yet, the Left should not get too angry. The Levy Report is not an annexation declaration. More than anything else, it rectifies a civil injustice, and, as we all know, civil rights is an issue that is very dear to our peace-seeking brothers. As long as we don't enact a basic law stating that settlers are second-class citizens, they deserve to manage their assets like all other citizens. No more, no less.
A Tel Aviv resident is not required to obtain a permit from the defense minister before he purchases a new home. Jews, and Jews alone, are prohibited from buying property - even an empty lot - in Hebron without such a permit. Every land dispute in Migron is automatically referred to the High Court of Justice, while in Raanana such disputes can be settled in a magistrates' court.
The Levy Report seeks to end this outrageous discrimination. It does not suggest that Israel institutionalize land-grabbing or confiscate Palestinian possessions. It does, however, call for balance. In case the report's recommendations are adopted, Palestinians will no longer be exempt from presenting proof of ownership. Today, this is exactly the situation over there. Jewish farmers are being dispossessed of their lands after years of cultivation only because their Palestinian neighbor suddenly remembered that his great-grandmother once planted a few olive trees there.
Of course, those who assume that Hebron and Migron are situated on land that has been owned by Palestinians since the days of our father Abraham will prefer the Talia Sasson Report over the Edmond Levy Report, but the government has the right to adopt the most recent one. The Levy report was drafted by three legal experts, not by one attorney. The Levy Report refutes the claim that Israel in an occupying force in the territories. This claim, which is popular among people who consider the Western Wall to be conquered territory, is not a legal ruling. These people systematically ignore the fact that Israel did not conquer a country in 1967; it conquered a vacuum.
There has not been one moment of Palestinian sovereignty in Judea and Samaria since our forefathers were expelled from the area during the days of Bar Kokhba. The sun won't die if we replace the Sasson Report with a more reasonable document.
