Lapid rejects Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution

 

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has finally emerged from the cocoon of silence that has enveloped all current 120 Knesset members - choosing to reject a solution emanating from Saudi Arabia on 8 June calling for the merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of the West Bank into one territorial entity to be called the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine (Saudi Solution). 

Lapid has opted instead to continue his longstanding support for the United Nations 29 years-old failed solution calling for the creation of a new State of Palestine between Israel and Jordan for the first time in recorded history (United Nations Solution)

Lapid's support was however conditional:

"We have only one condition: That a future Palestinian state will be a peaceful one. That it will not become another terror base from which to threaten the well-being, and the very existence of Israel" 

It is unclear whether Lapid had forgotten or had abandoned another condition which he had stipulated -when he told 26 European Union Foreign Ministers at the European Union Foreign Affairs Council on July 11, 2022 that:

"It is no secret that I support a two-state solution. Unfortunately, there is no current plan for this. However, there is one thing we all need to remember. If there is eventually a Palestinian State, it must be a peace-loving democracy".

With conditions such as these - the likelihood of such a Palestinian State ever emerging will be virtually impossible to achieve. 

Nevertheless Lapid has had the courage of his convictions to finally state the policy he will adopt  to try to end a conflict that has defied resolution for the last 100 years.

At least voters in the upcoming Israeli elections will know what to expect if Lapid becomes Israel's next Prime Minister on 1 November. 

The other 119 Knesset members - and those seeking to replace any of them who are retiring - continue to keep voters in the dark on what their policy will be in trying to achieve the long sought for peace to end the Jewish-Arab conflict. 

The emergence of the Saudi Solution offered these reticent politicians a real choice - yet not one of them has had the intestinal fortitude finally - if belatedly - displayed by Lapid. 

The Saudi Solution - in distinct contrast to the United Nations Solution - offers Israel the following concessions before negotiations are even commenced on implementing the proposal:

• Jerusalem will be the capitol of Israel only
• No new State will be created between Israel and Jordan 
• The right of return by Palestinian Arabs to Israel will be abandoned 
• Jewish sovereignty in part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) will be recognised for the first time in 3000 years
• Saudi Peace proposals made in 1981 and 2002 that were unacceptable to Israel will be superseded.

The universal silence by Israeli politicians on the Saudi Solution since its publication almost four months ago is shameful. 

One cannot expect every Israeli politician to embrace the Saudi Solution. They should publicly state the reasons for their opposition. 

But is there not one Israeli politician - Jew or Arab - other than Lapid - prepared to express his own opinion  on conducting negotiations to determine if agreement can be reached on the Saudi Solutions' ground breaking proposals? 

In particular why have the leaders of seventeen of the eighteeen major Israeli political parties contesting the elections - Netanyahu, Gantz, Sa'ar, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, Deri, Litzman, Gafni, Shehadeh, Odeh, Tibi, Michaeli, Galon, Abbas, Shaked, Liberman and Hendel - refused to comment on the Saudi Solution since its publication? 

Hopefully these leaders - like Lapid - will break their silence on the Saudi Solution well before November 1. 

Leaders lead from the front - not cower and huddle silently together behind the voters whose votes they seek.

Author's note: The cartoon--commissioned exclusively for this articl--is by Yaakov Kirschen aka "Dry Bones"--one of Israel's foremost political and social commentators--whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.

Israel's dysfunctional Government cannot survive

 

An amalgam of eight leaders trading insults and denigrating each other — whilst their parties have adopted policies that are totally irreconcilable on critical issues — is not the foundation for any stable Government — especially in Israel — whose enemies will become increasingly emboldened following the announcement of a cobbled-together Israeli Government comprising very different bedfellows.

A vote of confidence first needed from 61 members of the Knesset before this dysfunctional Government even begins operating is certainly not a foregone conclusion.

Either an Islamic-Arab party — Ra’am (4 seats) — or an extreme left wing party — Meretz (6 seats) which includes two Israeli Arabs — possess the ability to drag Israelis to a fifth election in 3 years.

This Government could implode in making decisions involving such issues as:

• Hauling Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC)
• Authorising future building in Judea and Samaria (West Bank)
• Extending Israeli sovereignty into Judea and Samaria
• Preventing the renewal of violent protests by Israel’s Arab population that saw synagogues burnt and attacks on Jews and their property during last month’s Israel- Gaza conflict

Fractured relations and policy differences abound: 

• Meretz leader — Nitzan Horowitz — has adopted the position that the ICC has grounds for investigating Israel for suspected war crimes. 

Gideon Sa’ar — leader of the New Hope party — said that he would not include Meretz in any coalition he led for holding that viewpoint. 

“Horowitz can’t join the government with positions like that,”

Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked — echoed Sa’ar’s sentiments:

“Anyone who talks like that will not be with us in a coalition,”

Yet Sa’ar and Shaked — and supposedly 10 other members of New Hope and Yamina parties — are ready to sit with Horowitz in coalition as the ICC probe continues and Israel’s Government has to formulate its responses.

 

• Prime Minister-elect Bennett repeatedly called Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas a “terror supporter” before the elections — but now opines

“Mansour Abbas isn’t a terror supporter. I met an honest man and a brave leader who is reaching out and seeking to help Israeli citizens.”

An amazing epiphany indeed for an Arab leader whose party’s 4 seats could bring down this Government at any time.

• During the election campaign — Bennett signed a pledge on TV (pictured below) — making the following commitments:

“I won’t allow Yair Lapid to be prime minister, including in a rotation (agreement.)” and “I will not establish a government based on the support of Mansour Abbas from the Islamic Movement.”

Bennett’s credibility has been shot to pieces.

• Bennett has long held the following views:

“The central problem is the failure of the Israeli leadership to simply state that the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel. We have to say this to ourselves on Channel 2 and on CNN that Israel belongs to the Jews”

“We have to tell ourselves and the whole world that his land has belonged to us for 3,000 years. The most certain path to defeat is for Israel to forget its sense of justice. This is true historically and legally. There has never been a Palestinian state here.” 

 Can Bennett utter one word about these historic and modern-day legal claims without the leaders of Meretz and Ra’am threatening to pack their bags and bring down the Government?

• Bennett has argued since 2012 in his detailed “Israel Stability Initiative” that Israel needs to extend its sovereignty into Area C of Judea and Samaria and that Gaza should be separated from Judea and Samaria. Advancing Bennett’s plan could see the Government’s downfall.

Israelis deserve a Government united in policy and possessing the firm resolve to combat their sworn enemies. This rancour-ridden Government — infected by deep political differences — is not the answer.


Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”—one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators—whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.

Strong Israeli Government can curb domestic Arab Jew-hatred

 

The display of unadulterated Jew-hatred shown by a large number of Israel’s Arab residents during the past week – provoking equally-condemnatory retaliatory responses by Jewish individuals - can only be dealt with and eradicated by a strong Israeli Government.

Israel’s current caretaker Government headed by Likud’s leader - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - and Blue and White’s leader - Defence Minister Benny Gantz - has shown it is more than capable of dealing with its arch Jew-hating neighbour in Gaza - Hamas - which has fired more than 2000 rockets indiscriminately into Israel’s population centers in five days.

Yamina leader Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman and New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar now need to put aside their personal aversion towards Netanyahu by joining forces with Netanyahu’s current coalition parties to secure an overwhelming majority of 72 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.

Gantz’s party could also be invited to join - giving Israel’s next Government 80 seats.

Either outcome would enable Israel to introduce urgent laws to regain control of the streets and begin ending the real threats posed to the lives and property of Jews - who comprise 80% of Israel’s population - and Arabs - who make up the remaining 20%.

Burning synagogues, attacking Jews and mass demonstrations of support for Hamas witnessed over the past week in the mixed Arab-Jewish population cities of Lod and Ramle and on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem cannot be allowed to continue.

Any inadequacies in Israel’s existing laws to end the current Arab riots needs to be rectified.

Any support for Hamas - as pictured below - must be made illegal. Such demonstrations are inflammatory and clearly designed to incite violence. Those identified at such gatherings need to be identified, tracked down and jailed.

Any Israeli political party supporting Hamas must be banned.

A pro-Hamas poster featuring heads of the terror organization, in front of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, on May 13, 2021. Credit: Israel Hayom.

Hamas’s Charter makes no bones in declaring its intention to wipe out the Jewish State:

“Palestine is an Islamic Waqf throughout all generations and to the Day or Resurrection…”

“…When our enemies usurp some Islamic lands, Jihad becomes a duty binding on all Muslims. In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad. This would require the propagation of Islamic consciousness among the masses on all local, Arab and Islamic levels. We must spread the spirit of Jihad among the [Islamic] Umma, clash with the enemies and join the ranks of the Jihad fighters.”

Laws necessary to achieve a quick end to similar future gatherings and street violence must be introduced. Heavy jail sentences and ordering restitution for injury to lives and damage to property must be introduced to encourage compliance. Freedom of speech and rights to demonstrate and assemble must be unreservedly limited under any declared state of emergency.

Laws to enable random police and army searches for persons carrying knives, guns and other dangerous articles must be unconditionally enforceable.

Israel is a country ruled by law – not by riots.

Laws considered unfair or unjust can only be changed through the ballot box or by reasoned and persuasive argument.

A disgruntled Arab-minority population cannot be allowed to turn into a Jew-hating rioting majority.

The personal rivalries, political ambitions and aspirations of Bennett, Liberman and Sa’ar need to be put on hold in the interests of the security and personal safety of all Israel’s population – both Jews and Arabs.

Israel’s threatened conversion to a domestic battle-field must be ended.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.

Israel reels from rockets, riots and arm-wrestles

 

Rockets from Gaza indiscriminately targeting Israel’s civilian population and Arab riots targeting Israel’s Jewish population in the streets of Jerusalem seem to have not moved Israel’s politicians to stop engaging in arm-wrestles in pursuit of their own personal political power.

It is hard to know who is to blame for this current sorry state of affairs: the electors who have brought about — what appears on the face of it — four indecisive elections in two years — or the seemingly-intelligent politicians they have elected who have been unable to reach a compromise on setting up a Government with 61 of the Knesset’s 120 currently-elected representatives.

A vendetta continues to be pursued to remove Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu — despite the overwhelming vote of confidence he and his party received from Israeli voters on March 23, 2021 — 1,066,892 votes.

The following leaders and their respective parties are seeking to replace Netanyahu as Prime Minister or deny him the right to head a right of centre Government:

• Naftali Bennett — 273836 votes
• Avigdor Liberman — 248370 votes
• Gideon Sa’ar — 209161 votes

All three and their respective parties have similar policies and political ideologies as Netanyahu and his allies. Collectively — as Likud, Shas, Yemina, United Torah Judaism, Yisrael Beitenu, Religious Zionism and New Hope - they comprise 72 of the 120 Knesset members.

These three leaders need to fall in behind Netanyahu to end the political uncertainty steadily eroding Israel’s ability to deal with the challenges it is facing — not only from rockets and rioting — but from the continuing confrontation with Iran, Hezbollah, the International Criminal Court, a hostile United Nations and the Biden Administration.

That this appalling political stand-off could have also been avoided in the three previous elections is an indictment on the common obstructionist denominator in all four elections: Avigdor Liberman

Liberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party have managed to garner the following votes on each occasion:

• April 9, 2019: 173004 votes
• September 17, 2019: 310154 votes
• March 2, 2020: 263365 votes
• March 23, 2021: 248370 votes

Given that valid votes cast have increased over the period of these four elections from 4,309,270 votes in April 2019 to 4,410,052 votes in March 2021 — the electors have clearly indicated their loss of support for — and confidence in — Liberman and his cronies. Yet he continues to dictate and dominate the political stage in a manner that can only be considered to be inimical to Israel’s domestic and international interests — overwhelmingly rejected by Israelis voting with their feet.

Bennett has hardly fared much better. His party — Yamina — in the April 9, 2019 elections secured 138598 votes — followed successively by 260655 votes, 240689 votes and 273836 votes. He can hardly claim to be Israel’s next Prime Minister with this kind of electoral support.

Netanyahu trounced Sa’ar in the race for Likud leadership last December — winning some 72.5% of the party vote in a landslide win. Sa’ar formed his own breakaway party — New Hope — with disastrous results in the recent election.

That Netanyahu should continue to be frustrated in leading Israel’s next Government by these three political spoilers beggars belief.

Netanyahu certainly has his problems — spending an increasing amount of his time in defending three indictments brought against him by Israel’s Attorney General. However the presumption of innocence should be afforded him — as it is with any other person in Israel facing charges.

It surely is time for these three amigos — Liberman, Bennett and Sa’ar — to put the voters ahead of their own personal ambitions, swallow their pride and end their political grandstanding.

Israel — and Israelis — deserve better.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.