Even if he did say 'Palestinian state'

By Shaul Arieli
Haaretz News


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech once again demonstrated that Israel's right-wing parties do not have a suitable and practical alternative to the solution of two states for two peoples. The right-wing bloc exists only to negate this idea and breaks up once it has to present a diplomatic alternative that will safeguard Israeli interests.

The declarations about the need to crush the two-state idea have been replaced by rearguard skirmishes bent on preventing its implementation. In 1993, Ariel Sharon wanted to announce that if Likud returned to power he would cancel the Oslo Accords; Netanyahu announced that the autonomy program under Israeli control was the sole alternative. These declarations were quickly exchanged for talk about a "Palestinian state" or a "demilitarized Palestinian state." It was clear to Netanyahu and his predecessors that they only needed the right-wing bloc to become prime minister. Once they settled in, they couldn't adopt even one of the right-wing positions that harm the Zionist concept of a Jewish and democratic state.

Supporters of Habayit Hayehudi and National Union consider sovereignty over the entire Land of Israel a condition that determines the Jewish people's identity and future. This position dictates a one-state solution, but they differ over its nature and regime. Some of them understand that continued control over a people without rights does not benefit Israel, and they agree that everyone should enjoy civil rights, even if the result is a foregone conclusion - the loss of a Jewish majority and the negation of Israel's definition as the state of the Jewish people.
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A binational state is not a possibility because this public believes we have been ordained to inherit the land and the way to do so is to expel its residents. That means prolonged friction that will lead to violent national and social confrontations and the disintegration of the state.

Likud members explain their objection to a Palestinian state with the claim that Ze'ev Jabotinsky's idea of an "iron wall" has not yet taken hold of Palestinian public opinion and that an agreement should be avoided until they have relinquished their desire to destroy Israel. But the steps taken for this purpose have merely widened the cracks in the iron wall and in Israel's status, beginning with the cessation of negotiations, the destruction of the Palestinian Authority, the disengagement, the separation fence's invasive route, and finally the negation of the Arab League's peace initiative. These moves helped Hamas win the elections and gain control of the Gaza Strip, led Israel to embark on military operations, and strengthened the Arab world's "rejectionist front."

Netanyahu's speech of regression has aligned him with the positions of Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu. They accept the idea of two states but try to torpedo it with conditions that render it ridiculous. That is what Netanyahu did when he said in his address that he was ready to begin peace negotiations immediately without preconditions: He demanded Palestinian recognition of Israel as the Jewish people's national home, agreement to a demilitarized Palestinian state, removing the refugee issue from the agenda, and maintaining united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty - before starting negotiations.

Even if Netanyahu did say "a Palestinian state," he was not able to pass the rejectionist crown to the Palestinian and Arab side. Netanyahu was mistaken when, in return, he rushed to take the option of continuing settlement construction. Netanyahu is adding the clash with the Obama administration to the rearguard skirmish he is conducting at the expense of the Israeli public, contrary to its position. A survey conducted by the Institute for National Security Studies revealed that 64 percent of the population supports the idea of two states for two peoples, only 17 percent are prepared to expand settlements at the expense of a confrontation with the United States, and 77 percent support the idea of an evacuation-compensation law.

The public should demand that Netanyahu stop throwing billions of shekels into barren plans. Instead, he must renew negotiations immediately without preconditions, accept the regional peace plan and present an Israeli plan that produces a Zionist outcome of a Jewish and democratic state living alongside a Palestinian state.

The writer is a board member of the Council for Peace and Security and was one of the architects of the Geneva Initiative.