Israel conducts an unseen occupation. The occupier cares about the occupied and takes nothing in return. Israel arms and finances the PLO, provides Palestinians with municipal services and jobs in Israel – and suffers from suicide bombers and rockets. The occupation is senseless. Either annex the lands and drive the Arabs out of there, or retract from Judea and Samaria and let Arabs have a state there. A Palestinian state could be dealt with much more efficiently than now. Israel could wall it off, stop labor migration, and impose debilitating tariffs on Palestinian imports. Gaza could be virtually closed off by charging substantial transportation fees and requiring the transit foreigners to obtain Israeli medical insurance. Israel will find it politically easier to retaliate against a sovereign state rather than Arab civilians living under her occupation.
Whether Palestine recognizes Israel or not is irrelevant. Peace or non-belligerency, some Arabs will continue to fight Israel. Properly, Israel should concede to the Palestinian state only on the condition of peace treaty with the entire Muslim world, but the government does not insist on that scenario. Besides, Muslim countries could violate the peace treaty easily.
The return of the 1948 refugees is not a great obstacle. Most will be unable to prove their grandparents’ place of residency. Years-long bureaucratic procedure of immigration would discourage the others.
Division of Jerusalem also is not a critical point. To all purposes, Arabs now control the Temple Mount and East Jerusalem.
Either create a Jew-only state which includes Judea and Samaria, or give the Arabs what is de facto theirs, anyway. What the heck…
