What are Palestinian interests, how are they defined by Palestinian leaders and are Palestinian leaders dangerous demagogues and grifters who are repeating tragic Palestinian history and leading their people down the road of doom, tragedy and exile? How do Palestinian political movements uniformly define Palestinian interests and are there any divergences between them? All PalestinianContinue reading “Whither Palestinian Interests?”
Tag Archives: Palestinians
President Trump needs to Speak Up
Israel is under global pressure to prematurely agree to the creation of a Palestinian state even without deradicalization of Palestinian society and without defensible borders for Israel. What scenario would inevitably play out? Hamas would take over Judea and Samaria since there is no chance for survival of the Abbas regime without the Israeli militaryContinue reading “President Trump needs to Speak Up”
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? Continue reading “Peace on Israel’s Terms”
There is still no Palestinian Partner for Peace Yet
Mahmoud Abbas the dictator and his international allies demand to unconditionally receive a Palestinian state at the Israeli-Jordanian 1949 armistice lines, an agreement which specifically specified that these should not be misconstrued as borders. US president Donald J. Trump is right and justified to not issue American entry visas to the Palestinian Authority delegation forContinue reading “There is still no Palestinian Partner for Peace Yet”
AI and Gaza
International leaders have expressed their shock over ostensibly starving children in Gaza. The Hamas ”starvation” campaign is nearly as old as this war and is effective in many countries because it evokes the medieval blood libel accusing Jews of killing non-Jewish children in order to drink their blood. It turned out that depicted children hadContinue reading “AI and Gaza”
Israel Applying Sovereignty will Bring Lasting Peace
According to a poll in recent months, 50% of the population of the strip wish to leave Gaza and emigrate to another country. It is highly likely that the humanitarian crisis means that most of the other half of the population wish to emigrate as well to avoid further suffering. Champion of peace, US presidentContinue reading “Israel Applying Sovereignty will Bring Lasting Peace”
Washington Should Threaten the EU with Consequences
It is a key US interest that Israel wins the Gaza war, ends the Hamas terrorist regime, safely relocates those Gazans who wish to relocate to yet other countries, establishes peace in the area and that Israel remains prosperous and strong. This is the way to end the current suffering and insecurity. The alternative asContinue reading “Washington Should Threaten the EU with Consequences”
What is the Palestinian Interest?
A week ago or so I had an interesting discussion with a Palestinian friend of mine and we exchanged pleasantries in Arabic before continuing in Swedish. My friend believes that a two-state solution will bring peace. So I humbly explained to him that this was not the Palestinian interest. First this is not how PalestinianContinue reading “What is the Palestinian Interest?”
The Arabs Missed Another Opportunity to Make Themselves Relevant
Egypt’ Gaza reconstruction plan is a sophisticated piece of propaganda that completely ignores the presence of Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip. There is no mention of demilitarization, permanent settlement of descendant of refugees and Arab forces to replace the Jihadists or any ideas about how to prevent Hamas from resuming theContinue reading “The Arabs Missed Another Opportunity to Make Themselves Relevant”
A Strong Israel Makes America Great
America’s policy towards Israel for most of the past half century has been based on reining in Israel’s political power while enhancing only Israel’s military power in terms of purchase of American military hardware. President Trump made great strides towards changing this policy during his first administration and his second term offers the opportunity toContinue reading “A Strong Israel Makes America Great”
Trump is Right
Palestinians in Gaza, indeed Palestinians in Judea and Samaria as well, should be offered the option of immigrating to Arab countries. This must be a strictly voluntary option albeit an economically and civically attractive one. This is in no way contrary to international law and could indeed facilitate a one-state solution.
Ramallah’s Grand Diplomatic Strategy
International recognition of the hypothetical Palestinian state is becoming increasingly universal. Israel has for decades anticipated that universal or near-universal diplomatic recognition appears inevitable and will happen one day. Israel’s strategy is to apply de facto sovereignty in parts of Judea and Samaria in anticipation of that day and has long prepared for that momentContinue reading “Ramallah’s Grand Diplomatic Strategy”
The Evacuation of Rafah
The US has long objected to Israeli plans for the evacuation of civilians from Rafah, including describing some as ”unviable”. In order to act constructively and maintain influence over the Israeli decision-making process, the US government should instead come up with its own ”viable” plan for the evacuation of civilians from Rafah and propose thisContinue reading “The Evacuation of Rafah”
Rebuttal of Senator Schumer’s Biden Surrogate Speech
Let’s be clear, I have no ideological problem with a Palestinian state next to Israel. However, creating a Palestinian state either through consent or coercion just is not possible and it is not desirable for either side for reasons that I will elaborate below. Israel experimented with creating a Palestinian state in Gaza and weContinue reading “Rebuttal of Senator Schumer’s Biden Surrogate Speech”
Israeli Victory is an American Interest
The US generally supports Israel in its wars but as a rule seek to prevent Israeli victory. This has been a general pattern since 1973. This is rather strange since Israeli victory is conducive to peaceful outcomes. The US needs to reassess its own unproductive behavior which perpetuates instability. Yes, it is true that RafahContinue reading “Israeli Victory is an American Interest”
It’s Anti-Semitism Stupid
Why is a Jewish state an absolute necessity? Because of antisemitism, including among Palestinians and Arabs. Why is an end-of-claims final status agreement not possible? It is true that Palestinians have real grievances and material claims but the conflict against Israel is fueled and motivated by antisemitism considering that Palestinians are the most antisemitic peopleContinue reading “It’s Anti-Semitism Stupid”
Why a Palestinian State Won’t Happen
Western international recognition of a a non-existent so-called ”Palestinian state” will have three consequences: 1) realization of Israeli sovereignty on something like 50% of Judea and Samaria, 2) Israeli government recognition of all Israeli outposts on state lands and 3) the final end of Palestinian-Israeli final status negotiations which were always a farce anyway. WhatContinue reading “Why a Palestinian State Won’t Happen”
Does the PA want a Palestinian State?
What does Fatah/PLO/PA want strategically speaking? They absolutely do not want to end the conflict and will not sign a document to that effect under any circumstances considering that their strategy is to destroy Israel in stages. So do they want a Palestinian state side by side with Israel? The answer is yes, but notContinue reading “Does the PA want a Palestinian State?”
What the PA Wants
Recently has the international debate been rekindled regarding what is referred to as ”the two-state solution”. But what is the real position of Fatah/PLO/PA in all this? The Palestinian side has no interest whatsoever in terminating the conflict – what Israelis refer to as ”a negotiated end of claims” and what Palestinians refer to asContinue reading “What the PA Wants”
Palestinian Statehood will Never Happen
Why will Palestinian statehood never happen? First because neither side sincerely believes in a two-state solution. Second because it cannot be imposed for the simple reasons that the PA has no interest in ending the conflict and Israel will not sacrifice its security, defense and existence no matter the foreign pressure. The withdrawal from GazaContinue reading “Palestinian Statehood will Never Happen”
A War to Liberate 8 Million Median Jews
The US government has always wanted to ”resolve” the conflict between Israel and those who seek her destruction. Nowadays is the US focus more on the official panacea than actually ending the conflict. The problem is the following, peace is not and was never was possible with those who seek Israel’s destruction. Peace is inContinue reading “A War to Liberate 8 Million Median Jews”
It’s Always Too Many Enemy Civilian Casualties in Gaza
Israel always faces the same criticism from Western allies whenever there is an armed conflict with Hamas and/or PIJ in Gaza. ‘Too many enemy civilians die’ despite the average mortality rate per air strike in the current conflict being less than 1,0. And when the enemy civilian casualties are few that is the subject ofContinue reading “It’s Always Too Many Enemy Civilian Casualties in Gaza”
The Kurds are Israel’s Partner for Peace
It has long been claimed that the terrorism-inciting Palestinian Authority is Israel’s partner for peace, however today almost no one in the international community believes in such a ”partnership”, despite this so-called ”community” almost universally paying lip service to that very misconception. The truth is rather that the Kurds are Israel’s partner for peace, notContinue reading “The Kurds are Israel’s Partner for Peace”
There Will Never be a Palestinian State
There was once a certain determinism in the international community. The widespread diplomatic recognition of the non-existent ”Palestinian state” over the past decades was to a significant degree driven by the determinist view that the establishment of a Palestinian state was somehow ”inevitable”. This is no longer so as few in the international community nowadaysContinue reading “There Will Never be a Palestinian State”
The Hamas Presence in Turkey Needs to be Expelled
Although Turkey’s ruling party AKP is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood as is indeed Palestinian Hamas, the Hamas presence in Turkey is highly inappropriate by any reasonable standard and must be removed one way or another. They could be eliminated by the Mossad on Turkish territory or they could be eliminated in other countriesContinue reading “The Hamas Presence in Turkey Needs to be Expelled”
Is the Gaza Casualty Rate Really Too High?
The US government has recently with some persistence claimed that ”too many civilians have died in Gaza”, but is that really true? The number of Israeli air strikes is higher than the number of Palestinian casualties which means that the ratio of casualty per strike is less than 1,0. How on Earth can that beContinue reading “Is the Gaza Casualty Rate Really Too High?”
An Unexplored Global Diplomatic Opportunity
Morocco has over the years succeeded in partly rolling back the formerly extremely extensive international recognition of Western Sahara. As the PA continues its long diplomatic march towards universal international recognition has there been no Israeli counter-strategy for rolling back international recognition of ”Palestine”. This is peculiar and reeks of mismanagement by successive Israeli governments.Continue reading “An Unexplored Global Diplomatic Opportunity”
The Biden Administration Does not Understand the MENA Region
The Biden administration is displeased that Prime Minister Netanyahu opposes a reinstatement of the PA in Gaza. First, the US government does not understand that no Arab government is sincerely interested in committing to administering the Gaza Strip prior to the complete pacification of that territory. Second, the PA won’t really be interested in takingContinue reading “The Biden Administration Does not Understand the MENA Region”
Too Early to Decide on Post-War Arrangements
The US government has pushed the Israeli government to come up with an arrangement for the post-war situation in Gaza. Let’s look at the different options: Qatar is an international sponsor of Islamism and Jihadism (including Hamas) and can therefore not be relied on for governing Gaza. The Palestinian Authority is a terrible option consideringContinue reading “Too Early to Decide on Post-War Arrangements”
How to Explain to the Media that Israel Doesn’t Target Civilians in Gaza
The al-Jazeera blood libel according to which the Jewish state is targeting civilians in Gaza is spreading in the international media. How should this be countered? Simply by explaining to journalists that the number of air strikes in Gaza is higher than the death toll in Gaza, i.e. on average less than 1,0 deaths perContinue reading “How to Explain to the Media that Israel Doesn’t Target Civilians in Gaza”
Biden Administration Should Stop Wasting Time
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud in a recent interview with Fox News clarified that he expects Israel to ease the lives of the Palestinians. This is a most reasonable demand and should I add a very realistic one. Palestinians in Judea and Samaria suffer greatly under the gruesome bureaucratic apparatus of Israel’s Civil Administration.Continue reading “Biden Administration Should Stop Wasting Time”
Biden Administration Needs to Rethink its Public Strategy on Saudi Deal
The Biden administration has made three mistakes relating to the ongoing negotiations with Saudi diplomats. The first mistake was to presume that Saudi diplomats’ demands for major Israeli concessions to the Palestinian Authority accurately reflect the personal attitude of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The second mistake was to raise expectations among progressives in CongressContinue reading “Biden Administration Needs to Rethink its Public Strategy on Saudi Deal”
Understanding the ”Ongoing Nakba”
Palestinians ahistorically refer to Israel’s 1947-49 War of Independence as ”the Nakba”. The historical fact is that tens of millions of people were permanently displaced around the world in the 1945-50 period (especially in South Asia and Eastern Europe) of whom less than a million were displaced Palestinian Arabs and less than a million JewsContinue reading “Understanding the ”Ongoing Nakba””
The KSA and the USA Need a Grand Deal Far More Than Israel Does
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently told Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer that Israel is misreading the situation if it thinks that it can get the US-Saudi-Israeli deal without significant Israeli concessions to the Palestinian Authority. However, this is not what the Saudis are telling the Israelis. For the USA and theContinue reading “The KSA and the USA Need a Grand Deal Far More Than Israel Does”
How Israel’s Sovereignty Map will Look Like
How is Israel’s sovereignty map different from the map of the Kushner peace plan? There will be no Israeli enclaves but there will be a number of fairly large Palestinian enclaves connected with other Palestinian enclaves and other Palestinian territory through tunnels. The Palestinian enclaves will be situated on the Western side of the SamariaContinue reading “How Israel’s Sovereignty Map will Look Like”
The Saudis are no Fools
The Biden administration is enthusiastically, albeit extremely naively so, hoping to somehow magically transform the rightwing Likud into the leftwing Meretz by dangling the prospect of normalization with the KSA. The sophisticated MBS-led Saudi government however isn’t exactly stupid, they know that the rightwing Israeli government can only deliver something symbolic. MBS knows perfectly wellContinue reading “The Saudis are no Fools”
Applying Israeli Sovereignty to Parts of Judea and Samaria is Imperative
Nobody knows the outcome of the November 2024 presidential elections in the United States. However, eventually at some point a member of the GOP will become resident of the White House. Hence the question of whether a future Republican president will recognize Israeli sovereignty in parts of Judea and Samaria is an essential one indeed.Continue reading “Applying Israeli Sovereignty to Parts of Judea and Samaria is Imperative”
A Major Operation is Required in Northern Samaria
The situation in northern Samaria is not about to improve, the opposite is true, Iran is determined to further destabilize the area. Contrary to what is claimed by some naive Westerners is Palestinian terrorism not triggered by construction in indigenous Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. Rather, what annoys Palestinian terrorists the most is theContinue reading “A Major Operation is Required in Northern Samaria”
Staggering American Naivety
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has recently claimed that violence in northern Samaria makes normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia impossible or near impossible. Interestingly, the Saudis are not making demands on the Palestinian issue from the Israelis but from the Americans! The Saudis sense that they have leverage over the Americans on Judea/Samaria issuesContinue reading “Staggering American Naivety”
Jordan’s Anti-Israel Incitement is a Sign of Weakness
Why is Jordan inciting against Israel and staying out of the Negev Forum? It is not that King Abdullah has personally turned particularly anti-Israel or somehow become a pro-Palestinian activist. Rather, this is a real sign of weakness of the Hashemite regime. In the past were the Hashemites not afraid to be open about theirContinue reading “Jordan’s Anti-Israel Incitement is a Sign of Weakness”
Learn From the Past
When Israel under US pressure rerouted the Jerusalem Day Flag Parade it led to war with Hamas in Gaza; whenever the regular route was followed there was no war. Rerouting the Flag Parade is extremely dangerous because it is perceived as a victory for terrorism and as such it encourages terrorism and therefore may leadContinue reading “Learn From the Past”
What is the Ideology of the Israeli Deep State?
The approach of the Israeli Deep State is Zionist pragmatism. This means that Israeli governments of various political colors are used to realize strategic projects conceived by the Israeli Deep State which after all is responsible for Israeli long-term strategic planning. How is it possible, you may ask, that the Israeli Deep State was behindContinue reading “What is the Ideology of the Israeli Deep State?”
Misinterpreting Smotrich
The State Department out of sheer ignorance misinterprets Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and misses the distinctive nuances of Israeli discourse. What Smotrich meant by saying that there is no Palestinian culture is that there is no specifically Palestinian Arab culture distinctive from other Levantine Arab cultures such as Jordanian and Syrian culture. When sayingContinue reading “Misinterpreting Smotrich”
Palestinian Statehood has Become a Fixation
Those in the international community who issue condemnations against Israel for authorizing young indigenous communities and for increasing construction in established indigenous communities live in the past. Neither side is interested in the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel and even if they wanted to create a Palestinian state they could certainly notContinue reading “Palestinian Statehood has Become a Fixation”
The Security Council got it Right
“The Security Council reiterates that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-State solution based on the 1967 lines.” UNSC Presidential Statement, February 20, 2023 It has long been claimed that construction in indigenous Israeli communities of Judea and Samaria endangers a two-state solution. The fact is that it only preventsContinue reading “The Security Council got it Right”
Genocide in America
Make no mistake, the United States of America, a.k.a. “The Great Satan” is the main and primary adversary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Death to America” is no mere slogan, the Supreme Leader says it will happen. Why is this so? For the same reason why 9/11 happened. Because Islamist ideologues generally are stronglyContinue reading “Genocide in America”
Arab Honor Culture and Geopolitics
Honor culture is the single most underestimated geopolitical factor in the MENA region. On the one hand does “honor” require Arab governments to officially support the PA despite detesting it and Israel being the actual ally of most Arab governments. On the other hand, confidence in America is undermined whenever the US does not standContinue reading “Arab Honor Culture and Geopolitics”
Median Jewish Aliyah is Necessary to Save Israeli Democracy From Theocracy
We already see that the anti-democratic Orthodox pro-theocratic political parties control more than a quarter of the Knesset. The demographic trends are clear although Western mass Aliyah prompted by a continued high annual economic growth rate in Israel could somewhat delay the Haredi takeover. Median Jewish mass Aliyah is definitely the demographic redemption of Israel.Continue reading “Median Jewish Aliyah is Necessary to Save Israeli Democracy From Theocracy”
Human Rights Promotion in Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Serve American Interests
It is generally a truism that promotion of human rights serves American interests, but this is not always true everywhere. One place where this is usually not the case is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. What are the American interests in Saudi Arabia? 1) First, Riyadh controls the global price of oil and so irrespectiveContinue reading “Human Rights Promotion in Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Serve American Interests”
Counter-Terrorism is the Correct Paradigm in Samaria
Israel’s counter-terrorism operations in Samaria have been described by UN officials as a perceived need for stopping an ostensible “cycle of violence”. US officials on their side make the case for what is described as “de-escalation”. The problem rather is the existence of Palestinian terrorism which must be preempted by Israel. If there are noContinue reading “Counter-Terrorism is the Correct Paradigm in Samaria”
Aliyah Organization 