Israel’s moment of truth
Op-ed: Sole response to Hamas-Fatah unity should be convincing Arab population in Judea and Samaria that Israeli institutions are preferable to Palestinian Authority's corrupt mechanisms.
The conclusion Israel must draw from this situation is stark and clear. Either it accedes to Palestinian demands that Zionism be liquidated, or it actively averts the fulfillment of Palestinian nationalistic ambitions. Decision-time means embracing the worldview of either the anti-Zionist left or the Zionist right. Israelis who support a "moderate" middle-ground espouse self-deceit and appeasement.
Despite the doom scenarios hawked by advocates of unilateral concessions, in reality Israel is in the strongest position to assert its will since the early 1990s. The United States of America, despite being led by the most pro-Palestinian administration since Israel’s establishment, is manifestly disconcerted at the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel’s existential needs. This means that future US administrations will be unwilling to jeopardize their prestige and credibility by pandering to Palestinian wiles.
Europe is too concerned with its economic and demographic decline to do more than pay lip service to the cause of Palestinian sovereignty. Expectations that a growing Muslim population would reinforce Europe’s pro-Palestinian slant have been disproved by rising awareness in the Old Continent about the social costs and security risks inherent in this trend.
In the regional context, Israel’s northern front has been calmed by the civil war in Syria, which will seriously weaken the military and economic might of whichever side ultimately prevails in the conflict.
Hezbollah, on the other hand, is unlikely to risk a conflict with Israel. Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim and Christian communities, already incensed by the Shiite movement's blood-letting in Syria, will not stand for a Hezbollah-initiated confrontation that invites Israeli bombs on Beirut.
Farsighted interests
On the Western front, Gaza has been isolated diplomatically since the Muslim Brotherhood regime was ousted in Egypt last year. Egypt’s new leadership has no appetite for taking on Israel; its generals know well that supporting the Palestinian cause only serves the interests of Islamists at home and in Gaza.
In the midst of profound political uncertainty and struggles to avert an economic meltdown, Egypt’s leadership recognizes Israel as an ally, albeit one that needs to be kept off the radar on the Arab street. Even so, King Abdullah of Jordan knows that a strong Israel is the best guarantee that his children will one day inherit the Hashemite throne.
Iran’s nuclear program constitutes a grave existential threat to Israel. Nevertheless, this existential threat can neither be aggravated nor alleviated by yielding to Palestinian demands, and therefore needs to be handled independently from the Palestinian context.
In the Palestinian context, Israel needs to convince the Arab populations in Judea and Samaria that Israeli institutions are preferable to the corrupt mechanisms of the Palestinian Authority. It is in Israel’s long-term interests to assimilate the Arabs of Judea and Samaria, exactly as was done in the Galilee and the Negev. Permanent Israeli control over the West Bank need not require granting voting rights to Palestinians in Israeli general elections.
It is a very Western-centric vision to assume that Palestinians would not be content with arrangements for communal and judicial autonomy, secured through local voting rights and a Palestinian legislative body. In the overwhelming majority of Arab lands, including those run by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, citizens have nothing but nominal voting rights. Therefore, the scenario proposed here is both de jure and de facto far more democratic than the alternatives that a conventional approach to Palestinian self-determination is prone to give rise to.
Ironically, Hamas rule over the Gaza population represents the best antidote to Palestinian nationalism. By contrasting the infrastructure and rule of law it can provide with the brutality and bloodshed of the irredentist alternative, Israel can win over the hearts and minds of every Palestinian mother and father not blinded by religious fanaticism and hatred.
Israel needs to invest in the progress and well-being of all inhabitants of Judea and Samaria and pursue and prosecute all agents of incitement and hatred. If this happens, Israel will have the force and moral authority to defend the historic homeland of the Jewish people. This is the sole response that the marriage of Hamas and Fatah deserves from Israel.
