When is a Defeat, A Defeat?
Reader comment on item: How Israel Can Win

Submitted by Fred Schlomka (Israel), Apr 7, 2006 at 06:00

Pipes' article misses a critical point. Israel already defeated the Palestinians in 1967 after driving the Jordanians out of the West Bank and the Egyptians out of the Gaza Strip. We have reinforced our victory by populating their land with Jews, and with periodic incursions to extract a heavy toll on the rebellious Palestinian population. Any further 'victory' by the world's fourth most powerful military would quite simply be mor slaughter and dispossession, similar to the the dismemberment of the Native American Nations by the onslaught of European power in North America.

Lets face it, Israel has already utterly destroyed the natural development of the Palestinian Arab peoples West of the Jordan River. Defeating them has never been a problem. The real issue is how to get rid of them before developments on the ground forever preclude the establishment of a second state. Conquering additional Palestinian territory only gave rise to the 'demographic problem' we face today here in Israel. Since we all know that absorbing the entire West Bank into the State of Israel will mean the demise of a Jewish majority, our government plans to carve off the settlement blocs and leave the Palestinians with disconnected islans of territory comprising maybe 40-60% of the West Bank plus Gaza for their 'state'.

Again the analogy of the Native Americans is appropriate. They too were the 'terrorists' of their era. They too ended up with truncated territory, continually nibbled at and settled by white people, until their nations were destroyed.

So don't worry Mr. Pipes, we have already defeated the Palestinians, we continue to settle more of their land, and the coming decades will see more of the same.

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Daniel Pipes replies:

You missed my point. The goal is psychological hopelessness, not material destruction.