The Israelis need to demand, as a preconditino to talks, that the descendants of the refugees of the 1948 War which the Arabs lost reject their so-called “right” of return. They left their land voluntarily–admittedly in a condition of war, but one which was not started by the Israelis–and have since been calling for the destruction not just of the Jewish nation, but of the Jews IN it for at least 50 years.
They can’t get it. Even if somehow the logistics could be worked out, that would be national suicide for the Israelis. The situation is analogous to that which would obtain if the Cherokees suddenly started demanding the return of their ancestral homelands. Actually, the Cherokee have the better case, as they were driven from their lands by force. The refugees of the 1948 War, by and large, were not. And certainly there was no concerted effort on the part of the Jews to ethnically cleanse their land. Many Arabs remained, and they are part and parcel of Jewish society. They are practicing Muslims in a Jewish nation. As such, they are afforded more legal rights and freedom of conscience than Arabs in any other land, with the possible exception of Iraq.
I have been watching this theatrical farce for as long as I can remember, when some Secretary of State, in the interests of “peace”, will convene a conference, in which both sides feel the need to pretend they can reach accomodations, and which invariably ends either in failure, or Israeli concessions which are promptly abused by the refugees.
It is my sincere opinion that if Western media had a shred of honor, and the capacity for the use of intelligence in their assessments, that we could have seen whatever peace is possible emerge 30 years ago.
As things stand, no one wants to call a spade a spade and admit that the core sticking point is the “right” of return, and that it can never be granted, and that therefore any conference which does not admit this in advance, will ALWAYS be doomed to failure.
Only an idiot would claim otherwise. Manifestly, we have many idiots, though–particularly in the US and Europe–and many in high places.