Peace on Israel’s Terms

Israeli governments have historically created a pattern where they were ready to cede and indeed expected to cede the optimum in negotiations with Arab interlocutors for negotiation. This created excessive, indeed optimal expectations among those negotiating with Israel. The question that needs to be asked is who needs peace the most, Israel or Arab governments? 

1. The Palestinians clearly needs peace more than Israel does but Palestinian leaders behave as if they were the ones who won all the wars. The fact that Israel has not applied sovereignty over certain areas it seeks to retain, namely Israeli indigenous communities in Judea and Samaria beyond Jerusalem unintentionally reinforced this negative mindset on the Palestinian side. Furthermore, Israel applying sovereignty in Jewish areas in Judea and Samaria, strengthens US interests by reinforcing that Palestinian statehood is completely off the table until Palestinians deradicalize their society and agree to territorial compromise with Israel retaining all Israeli indigenous communities.
2. Lebanon is realizing that they need peace more than Israel does and is thus committing to disarm Hezbollah with apparently the goal of making peace with Israel. They will have cede Har Dov (Sheba farms). 
3. Syria understands that peace with Israel is in their interest but they will have to commit to regional self-rule on the model of Spain and ceding claims to the Israeli Golan. 
4. Saudi Arabia also needs peace more than Israel does and despite official pretensions knows perfectly well that Palestinian statehood is off the table for now despite MBS’ bromance with the naive Macron.
5. Other Arab and Muslim nations also need Israel more than Israel needs them and they know it. Time is on Israel’s side and everyone will eventually come around, including Iran after the fall of the clerical regime.  

Turning Judea and Samaria into a second Gaza by completely prematurely creating a Palestinian state is not in the interest of anyone (excepting the ruling Mullahs in Tehran), certainly not the United States or for that matter the Palestinian themselves who systematically act to harm Israel rather than promoting their own national interests by educating for peace and recognizing that peace requires defensible borders for Israel.