A Palestinian State ?

A Palestinian State seems to be a foregone conclusion, accepted as inevitable by a large majority of observers, from President George W. Bush to even (with qualifications) Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Recently we're hearing that "reforms" are necessary in the Palestinian Authority before such a state would or should be created. Or that it's premature. What sort of country will that Palestinian state be? Is It Inevitable? - Or Is It A Disastrous Idea?

These larger questions remain buried under the grand assumption of inevitability... the following articles challenge this commonly accepted necessity for "an end to the conflict".

• 23 reasons to oppose the creation of a second Palestinian-Arab state in Yesha (pdf)
• A Palestinian State Inside Israel  The Israeli government's acceptance of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, in a considerable portion of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, is very likely the acceptance of the destruction of the Jewish state.
• A Palestinian state - unsafe at any size
• There Will Never be a Palestinian Democracy  These Arabs will never be at peace, will never know the blessings of democracy so long as they are encouraged to cling to a false and hateful identity as "Palestinians." They are not a separate people; they are part of the Arab nation and, with few exceptions, they need to be absorbed back into it.
• Is a Palestinian State a Foregone Conclusion?  To all our friends, Jews and Christians, who believe in the Bible: this should be an encouragement for all of us. We may have many enemies, but with G-d's help we will fight together to ensure Israel's survival. We need to be passionate; in these crucial times we cannot afford to be complacent. The struggle for Israel's survival should occupy our thoughts - morning, noon and night.
• Palestinian Lies, Israeli Truths  Since the time of Dr. Goebbels [head of the Nazi propaganda machine] there has never been a case in which continual repetition of a lie has borne such great fruits... Of all the Palestinian lies there is no greater or more crushing lie than that which calls for the establishment of a separate Palestinian state in the West Bank...
• Palestinian Statehood Would Undo Jewish State Israel and Palestine living peacefully, side by side (and the suicide bombers shall lie down with the victims), is a dream of diplomats disconnected from reality. A provisional Palestinian state would be an interim, but irreversible, step toward the abolition of the Jewish state.
  
  
• Palestinians are Not Ready for Statehood Ever since Yasser Arafat appeared to embrace the idea of the State of Israel alongside a Palestinian state in 1988, and the Israeli government accepted the notion of a Palestinian state by signing the Oslo Accords in 1993, it was presumed that the peace process was moving toward a two-state solution. Commentators such as myself have embraced this concept for years. Sadly, however, I now sense we were wrong. Put simply, the Palestinians are not ready for statehood.
  
  
• We Have All Been Had The belief that giving the Palestinians a state will bring peace is a delusion. The truth is that they want it all. The short-term goal is a state consisting of the West Bank and Gaza. The long-term goal is a state that includes all of "historical Palestine," including Jordan.
  
  
• The Stillborn Palestinian State Or why a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza is nonviable.
  All those who so stubbornly demand the creation of this corpse-state never stop to ask themselves what will happen after it is proclaimed. However, it is precisely the answer to this question that unequivocally demonstrates not only the hopelessly utopian nature of the idea, but more importantly the almost criminally ill-advised nature of any attempts to establish this state.
  
  
• Stop Your Foolish Imaginings The politician will welcome the new Arab state with warm words and praise the two sides for their fortitude. He will stir his audience to tears, mentioning the names of Arab and Jewish victims of what he will call "the cycle of violence." He will invoke Biblical images of the end of days. He will quote, of course, from the Bible and from the Quran.
  
  
• A State of Insanity After all, the Jewish State is only following the precepts of U.N. resolution 242, which call on Israel to withdraw to defensible and secure boundaries. The only way to achieve that goal would be a demilitarized Palestinian state or concede them no state at all. On a practical level, what incentive does Israel have to grant an independent state? The next generation of Palestinians has already been programmed to loathe their neighbors. Would an independent state guarantee the end of terror? Hardly. In reality, Arab resentment has not diminished with the increased autonomy, it has swelled to deplorable levels.
  
  
• No Palestinian state, for now Sadly, a scenario for peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians is not yet on the horizon. It was therefore appropriate, indeed essential, for Likud as a political party that purports to represent national interests to reaffirm - loudly and clearly - its opposition to simplistic formulations for Palestinian sovereignty which could be a prescription for disaster.
  
  
• The PA's Rotten Core It is ridiculous to speak of creating a Palestinian nation at present. A would-be nation should contain, at the very least, politically independent civic institutions, leaders committed to the rule of law, and a unified police command. But even before the Israeli invasion, the Palestinian Authority had degenerated into a loose confederacy of terrorist and quasi-terrorist organizations -- Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah -- competing to shake cash out of Mr. Arafat.
  
  
• Likud right to reject state of chaos Except for brief periods of exile, Jews have lived in Judea and Samaria (the "occupied territories" to The New York Times, the "West Bank" for CNN) for 4,000 years. The history of ancient Israel wasn't played out within the pre-'67 borders of the modern state. Abraham lived in Hebron, not Herzliyya. The Ark of the Covenant came to rest in Shiloh, not Tel Aviv. Bethlehem, not Be'er-Sheva, is the city of David.
  
  
• It's Too Early for a Palestine State The decision of the Likud Party's Central Committee in Israel on Sunday to reject the concept of a Palestinian state came as little surprise. It reflects the prevailing mood of the Israeli right and a growing acceptance on the left that the Palestinians have forfeited a right to statehood.
  
  
• Why Don't I Care About the Palestinians? "We are all supposed to support the notion of a Palestinian state. [But] why? We know perfectly well what it would be like. Why should we wish for another gangster-satrapy to be added to the Arab roll of shame, busy manufacturing terrorists to come here and slaughter Americans in their offices?"
  
  
• No Room for Arafatistan in Middle East But don't the Palestinians -- as the cliche goes -- deserve to live in their own land, under their own laws? Not when, according to a Feb. 2 poll, 69 percent believe that a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis is impossible "under any circumstances" and 82 percent think the murder of 21 Israeli teen-agers at a Tel Aviv nightclub was not an act of terrorism.
  
  
• What's Wrong With A Palestinian State The only way a workable peace treaty--and a viable Palestinian state--is ever going to emerge is if Israel and the U.S. confront Arab radicalism head on by showing that the West is not neutral between democracy and dictatorship, and that any resort to violence will be punished, not rewarded.
  
  
• West Bank Delusions: A Palestinian state will make things worse. Despite the cycle of endless violence, aggression, and terror it would mean, Bush, Powell, and Blair have become suddenly fixated on this scenario of a Palestinian "state." They think it is a way to get the Arab regimes to play along in the war against bin Laden. They should think again.
  
  
• Imagine a Palestinian State: A Nightmare for the Arabs and for Israel Elevating the PLO to sovereignty poses well-known dangers to Israel and the United States, but, ironically, Arabs are even more vulnerable to its predations. A Palestinian state means new disasters for the Palestinian people and instability for the Arab states.
  
  
• Palestine and the national interest In other words, from a military perspective, it is doubtful whether de jure Palestinian statehood is significantly more dangerous than the de facto statehood that exists today. The problem is not whether Palestinian state is recognized, but Palestinian empowerment in general.
  
  
• State of Refusal - On a Palestinian state Without Israeli approval and ratification, Palestinian statehood must remain notional. For the administration to spend political capital on the question at this moment, when Palestinian factions are competing to kill Jews, is to oblige Israel either to ensure that any Palestine state is stillborn, or else consent to running its own existential risk. That's a no-win choice for everyone.
  
  
• The Risks of a Palestinian State Israel has much to fear - more perhaps than any other state on the face of the earth. Threatened by a growing number of adversaries with ballistic missiles and with a corollary interest in nuclear warheads, Jerusalem should know that full and codified transformation of Judea/Samaria and Gaza into Palestine will provide its enemies with the means and the incentives to destroy the Jewish state once and for all.
  
  
• A Palestinian State: The Ultimate Poison Pill A Palestinian State created in the usual model endemic to Arab dictators, will be an exact replica of Saddam's Iraq, Khameni's Iran, Bashar Assad's Syria and Arafat's reign in Lebanon now being repeated in Gaza. They will go from being well-armed to being super-armed in a brief period of time.
  
  
• So, You Want Another Palestinian State? The same men who think a Palestinian State will buy time are the ones who gave us catastrophic weaponized Iraq, Iran and Syria. These same men think that sacrificing Israel will dilute the drive for an Islamic world dedicated to Allah. The pundits tell us that, if a Palestinian State is created, all will be well for the Jewish State of Israel and Islamic warriors will not trouble us any more.
  
  
• Peace Or Palestine, You Can't Have Both Peace with the PLO is not possible. Netanyahu made a grave error by recognizing the "Palestinian Entity" as he chooses to call it. This "entity" is a complete fabrication whose only function is to replace the Jewish State with an Arab one. It has no other function. To recognize such an entity is to be a participant in the destruction of Israel!
  
  
• Patently wrong about Palestinian statehood Certainly Israelis will not allow a state to emerge that continues to wage jihad war against them, as Arafat's Palestinian Authority has done. Only a country with a severe suicide wish would do that.
  
  
• Palestinian Demilitarization: An Analysis Now that a Palestinian state is altogether inevitable, Prime Minister Sharon argues publicly that Israel´s security could still be safeguarded by Palestinian demilitarization. There is no need to worry, says the Prime Minister, the authoritative expectations of international law will be able to protect Israel. However, Sharon is sorely mistaken. International law will not necessarily require Palestinian compliance with pre-state agreements concerning the use of armed force. From the standpoint of international law, enforcing demilitarization upon a state of Palestine would be enormously problematic
  
  
• Two People, Two States There are two states in Palestine today. Two people and two states. The Jews named their state Israel. The Arabs named their state Jordan. This is an established political reality. Today, by working for a second Palestinian state the PLO is trying to erase the Jewish state of Israel from the Middle Eastern map. There is a saying that history repeats itself: first as tragedy, then as farce. In order to prove this saying true, Israel must prevent the establishment of a second Palestinian state.
  
  
• Thinking Outside The Box Today, the world community continues to patronizingly tell Israel what is best for her, assuming that the Jews will be overjoyed at a solution in which their already minuscule country will be pared away to create yet another state bent on her destruction. This is, of course, absurd, since no country in the world would ever allow such a situation to take place - why should the Jewish state be any different?
  
  
• UN Call for Palestinian State: Suicide for Palestinians If Palestinians were serious about having their own free state, they would start by deposing and arresting Yasser Arafat for his crimes against his own people. In place of the terrorists now representing them, Palestinians should send to the negotiating table representatives who believe in and honor individual rights - leaders who plan to establish a free civilized country where violence is abhorred and suppressed. Only then will Palestinians have earned the right to a state of their own.
  
  
• A Second Palestine It is therefore false to allege that the Palestinian people has been deprived of a State of its own or that it has been uprooted from its national homeland. Most Palestinians continue to live in Palestine. Most Palestinians continue to live in a Palestinian State. The vast majority of Palestinian Arabs are citizens of that Palestinian State. "Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan,"
  
  
• True Dangers Of A Palestinian State If Israel today feels it is in a thorny situation facing a Palestinian autonomy, this is child's play as compared to the challenge presented by a Palestinian state. And while the Palestinian state may be declared in conjunction with a solidly written Palestinian-Israeli treaty, the existence of that state will not be conditional on that pact. No. Arafat isn't going to go on television and unilaterally tear up the treaty. He will "react" to Israeli "violations" - real or imagined. And given the Oslo experience, it is reasonable to expect that many in the world community will find it convenient to accept Arafat's interpretation.
  
  

  “The biggest mistake we can make is to reward terror by giving it a state of its own. A Palestinian state can sign defence agreements with Iraq, Syria or Libya. A Palestinian state will control our water supply. When you give them a state you give them all of this. We have been afraid of the world’s disapproval. Saying no to a Palestinian state means saying yes to a Jewish state and that we’ll do.”—

  Former P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu, urging fellow Likud members to call for the immediate deportation of Yasser Arafat and to reject forever the notion of a Palestinian state. [Netanyahu’s motion was passed by the Likud Central Committee, despite Sharon’s opposition to this policy.] (National Post, May 13)