When the Israeli government initiated what became the Oslo process was it quite aware that no end-of-claims final status agreement was possible with the PLO. Yet, the opened-eyed, realistic Israeli government initiated the Oslo process with the goal of establishing a Palestinian autonomy, something that was accepted by both Likud and Labor and was anchored in the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty. Israel knew it could not give up strategic control over Judea and Samaria since this potentially could spell military suicide if foreign forces of major Anti-Zionist powers were to be stationed in the Judea and Samaria mountain range overlooking Israel’s political capital Jerusalem and its economic capital Tel Aviv. Israel would become very vulnerable indeed as it thus would only be able to defend itself through preemptive war. As the Israeli government knew that an end-of-claims final status agreement was not possible with the PLO whose goal is to dismantle the Jewish state were the Israeli goals limited to the establishment of a Palestinian autonomy which meant that Israel would not have to rule over most Palestinians in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
The PLO believed that it was deceiving Israel in accordance with the 1974 Phased plan (PLO’s Ten Point program). The PLO believed that Israeli Labor leaders were naive and that they took advantage of their naivety. In practice was it Israel that outsmarted the PLO. The international impression was that Israel had successfully appeased the PLO when the reality was entirely different. The Palestinian Authority is highly convenient for Israel and will remain in place until Israel’s Jewish population has grown sufficiently for demographically allowing Israel to redeem and enfranchise the entire Judea and Samaria.
The Palestinian movement is ideologically committed to Anti-Zionism whose goal is to end the Jewish state and replace it with a Palestinian state. Yet it must be underscored that the Palestinian movement seeks a Palestinian state in place of Israel and one that will be without Jews in it. Israel skillfully deceived the PLO into accepting autonomy knowing full well that the PLO was ideologically opposed to an end-of-claims final status agreement. This was a well-calibrated policy of deception, not appeasement, yet the international community continues to believe that Israeli appeasement of the Palestinian Authority will bring peace despite all evidence to the contrary. The PLO on its part of course did not understand that it was being manipulated but believed they were deceiving the Jews into making territorial concessions.
The international community has ever since believed that it was possible for Israel to appease the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian diplomats have skillfully deceived foreign governments into believing that this is the case. However, when Israel has tried to negotiate final status with the PA it has been met with complete rejectionism. This is because the PA remains faithful to the strategy of dismantling Israel in stages. This is what the Palestinian media says and this is what is taught in Palestinian schools. The international community refuses to believe that however and hence is surprised that there is no progress in peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Aliyah Organization 