"We want to live with you in peace, as good neighbors. We want our children and your children to never again experience war... I do not want war. No one in Israel wants war."
With these words, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed the collective dream of the Israeli people - peace - and called upon Israel's Palestinian neighbors to join us in immediate negotiations, without preconditions, towards realizing this vision. Unfortunately, the Palestinians immediately rejected this call.
In his groundbreaking address at Bar Ilan University (14 June 2009), Netanyahu detailed a clear and positive vision of coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians in which "in this small land of ours, two peoples live freely, side-by-side, in amity and mutual respect. Each will have its own flag, its own national anthem, its own government. Neither will threaten the security or survival of the other."
The Prime Minister envisioned a solution of the conflict in which there would be two states for two peoples: a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state. Israel does not want to govern the Palestinians; but rather, to live in peace with them.
Unfortunately, in the Middle East dreams are not enough. The history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has taught us that harsh realities cannot be ignored, and that basic truths must be respected.
In his speech, the Prime Minister posed an intriguing question: If the advantages of peace for both Israelis and Palestinians are so evident, why has peace remained so remote? To resolve this frustrating enigma, an honest and forthright answer first must be given to another, more fundamental question - what is the root of the conflict?
Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people
The history of the dispute, from the beginning of the last century to this very day, demonstrates one unequivocal fact - at the core of the conflict lies the longstanding refusal to recognize the right of the Jewish people to a nation-state of its own, in its historic homeland. For there to be true peace, Israel must be recognized as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
Israel's right to be recognized is undeniable and the fact that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people should be self-evident. The connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel has lasted for more than 3,500 years.
Yet for decades the Palestinians have produced official statements and educational materials which deny the historic connection dating back thousands of years between the Jewish people and their land.
In modern times, Jewish pioneers began their nation building in the Land of Israel 78 years before Israel's independence, before Hitler was even born. The United Nations' predecessor, the League of Nations, decided to re-establish the Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel in 1922, long before the nightmare of the Holocaust of the Jews could ever have been imagined. From its inception, the United Nations recognized Israel's legitimacy as a Jewish state and Palestinian continuing refusal to do so is a serious impediment in the search for lasting peace.
The Palestinians refused proposal after proposal to divide this land and establish their own state, from their rejection of the 1947 UN Partition Plan, up to their rejections of repeated far-reaching Israeli peace proposals in recent years. In 2000 and again last year, Israeli leaders were reported to have proposed an almost total withdrawal in exchange for an end to the conflict, and twice their offers were rejected. It is truly tragic that the Palestinians prefer a refusal to recognize the right of the Jewish nation-state to exist over the establishment of a state of their own.
Recognition of the national home of the Jewish people is also crucial in view of the Palestinian refusal to accept the corollary of a two-state solution, namely, that the resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue must take place outside the borders of the State of Israel. This principle was clearly guaranteed by US President Bush in his 14 April 2004 letter to then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, which stated that "an agreed, just, fair and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel."
For far too many years, the simple and basic truth - that the Palestinian refusal to accept Israel's right to exist as the homeland of the Jewish people lies at the core of the conflict -has remained unaddressed. Instead, the claim has been put forth - and repeated ad nauseam - that the primary obstacle to peace is the Jewish presence in the West Bank and Gaza since the Six-Day War. This misguided approach not only disregards any Palestinian responsibility for achieving a peaceful resolution, it ignores the history of the conflict that began long before the 1967 war.
The past four years have proven that simply ceding control over more land to the Palestinians is not the answer. Since Israel completely left the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005, the fundamentalist Hamas organization established an Iranian-backed mini terror-state on Israel's southern border. Bitter experiences have shown that areas from which Israeli forces withdrew have been turned into bases for terror attacks against Israeli civilians and cities. No one who wants true peace or a better future for the Palestinians should be seeking to duplicate on the West Bank the failed reality of today's Gaza regime - a violent, fanatical theocracy.
Demilitarization
Recognizing the potential security threats that Israel would face in any future arrangement, Netanyahu's second principle regarding the demilitarization of a future Palestinian state becomes crucial - especially in light of Palestinian aggression that began long before the very establishment of Israel. Under the final peace agreement, the Palestinians should have all the capabilities to govern themselves, with the exception of a handful of powers that could endanger Israel's most vital national and security interests. Demilitarization would not prevent a future Palestinian state from retaining the police forces necessary to maintain public order or fight terror. Yet Israel cannot allow its densely-populated central region to be exposed to thousands of rockets in a repeat performance of its Gaza experience, nor to the horrific waves of terrorist attacks and suicide bombers that followed Israel's offer in 2000 of a Palestinian state in almost all of the disputed territories.
The international community, led by the United States, should provide political guarantees for this demilitarization, so that a Palestinian state would not acquire over time those powers which could threaten the security of Israel, such as the ability to forge military pacts with terror-patron countries like Iran. Without ironclad security guarantees that ensure demilitarization, the Palestinian territories will become another "Hamastan", as Gaza is today - a danger to Israel, to the region and to the world.
Jewish settlements
Claiming that Jewish settlements are blocking peace is not consistent with historical facts. The presence of settlements in the Sinai did not prevent achieving peace with Egypt, while Israel's removal of such settlements from Gaza in 2005 only spurred on Palestinian attacks. Indeed, Israel acted above and beyond its obligations under the Road Map, dismantling all settlements in Gaza in the hope that this would encourage peace. Yet, in exchange for its peace efforts, Israel received thousands of missiles.
Nevertheless, the current Israeli government has decided to abide by previous understandings to not build new settlements or appropriate land for that purpose. In addition, Israel is actively working to dismantle the unauthorized outposts.
The future of the settlements should be determined in final status negotiations. Until that time, normal life should be allowed to continue in a way that will not prejudge those negotiations. Building within these communities does nothing to change the facts on the ground or to prejudge whatever might be agreed upon in a final peace agreement.
Israel should not be expected to strangle already existing settlements. Forbidding "natural growth" construction inside established communities would mean that young couples would not be able to raise their families, while much-needed kindergartens, clinics and other services could not be built.
Israel has a clear goal - an end to the conflict. Compromises by both sides will be needed to achieve that ambition. PM Netanyahu has firmly restated Israel's commitment to its international obligations - and its expectation that other parties would also comply with their commitments. Should the Palestinians change course, accept the need for realistic compromises and abide by their commitments, Israelis and Palestinians will be able to live side-by-side in dignity, security, prosperity, and above all, in peace.