Could Mr Pipes or anyone help me understand why
Reader comment on item: Have Israelis Finally Learned the Strategic Value of Territory?

Submitted by Marcella, US (Canada), Jan 7, 2009 at 15:38

I'm growing weary of watching scenes of carnage in Gaza day after day on TV. Mostly images of children, of course. Whatever the government gets out of this incursion into Gaza will be dwarfed by the gigantic PR value that Hamas and the Arabs in general will get out of this showing of Israeli overkill.

So I need to understand the rationale behind Israel's attitude regarding the Arabs.

Most websites will automatically censor my comments whenever I mention the fact that the ever growing Arab population in Israel needs to be helped financially to emigrate. This suggestion is considered extremely offensive and thrown into the recycle bin. But other people's comments that cheer on the blasting of any Arab - including children - are considered politically correct.

Keep in mind that I'm quite aware of how Arab children are being brainwashed into becoming killers, and that parents think nothing of sending their sons or daughters to martyrdom. I have no illusions whatsoever about Arab society, and that's precisely why I think that for the sake of Israel's very survival, Arabs cannot be allowed to grow to a greater percentage of the population. The frequent attacks on Jews within the Green Line, how Arabs push Jews away from their neighborhoods, or how they harass the religious or any Jew for that matter, all that makes a mockery of Israel as a home for the Jews.

Furthermore, if Israel does the only sane thing and annexes the territories, there will be an increased problem with the Arab population within.

It's not the time and place to argue why I believe Jews are the legitimate inhabitants of the land of Israel, including the territories. My point is that had Israel done the right thing in 1967 and annexed the territories and placed the Arab population across the border in Egypt and Jordan, there would have been a temporary outcry, but everything would be settled now. And believe me, everyone, including the Arabs, would be living in much better conditions.

But the Israelis considered such actions distasteful... and still do. They reek of ethnic cleansing, something that bad people do. But they don't mind going into the terrorists' dens and shoot both terrorists and civilians.

The Arabs are repeat offenders. They attack Israel again and again. Israel retaliates and kills terrorists and civilians alike. Not the IDF's fault. Kids and women are used as human shields. Still. It's not good to see bodies of children piled up.

So why not put an end to the problem of the territories and incorporate them into Israel and encourage all Arabs to move on to Arab lands. A great deal of money has been spent keeping this population in limbo. Why not pay $100,000 or $200,000 or more to each family and let them build better lives elsewhere. Polls show that most Gaza and PA Arabs wish to emigrate. Their society is rife with violence and corruption. Between statehood and well-financed emigration (to Europe or Latin America), they would choose emigration.

I don't expect the Arabs to ever accept the Jews in the Middle East, but at least, by securing Judea, Samaria, Gaza, Gola and Jerusalem, Israel would have a chance to survive as a country. Without its heartland, and without the land corridor between Gaza and the PA that Israel is expected to give up so that Arabs can have a viable state, Israel won't survive for very long.

So why in the Israeli mind is annexation and Arab emigration distasteful but the killing of civilians is acceptable, and - very importantly - why are Israelis willing to risk the future slaughter of Jews when the better armed and more empowered Palestinian State starts launching rockets from all directions.

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