Prime Minister Yair Lapid has been fooling us all. Walking up to an international stage with some of the most prominent global political figures watching, claiming your government’s aim is to help create a Palestinian state and accomplish the two-state solution’s goal. That alone is perhaps the bravest thing any Israeli PM has done, especially while knowing not-so-deep down that such a solution is simply not possible and will most likely never be a reality.
One of the most important key quotes inside Lapid’s speech which he hammered home more than once was the “put down your weapons” line. Lapid, as did Rabin, Barak and Olmert had promised the world to Palestinians as long as they disarm. Israel's short-term Prime Minister called for the rebuilding of the Gaza strip and promised financial aid as long as the Palestinians demilitarize themselves.
“An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel’s security, for Israel’s economy and for the future of our children.” @yairlapid Lapid voices support for a two-state solution at the #UnitedNations. pic.twitter.com/lSgaHYtGkO
— AIJAC (@AIJAC_Update) September 28, 2022
Now, most Israelis are sharp, even the liberal ones on the left who live in Israel, surrounded by a Hamas-led Gaza and the lawless 'Wild' West Bank know that the reasonable request will never be honored. Demilitarize the Palestinians? The Palestinian Authority which is supposed to be the law and order within the West Bank can't even do that in some cities, just last week they were chased out of Nablus and Jenin with videos of the P.A. security forces running scared. So, how does one even begin to do such a thing?
* Lapid told UN majority of Israelis back 2-state solution, but poll shows otherwise The Times of Israel
— Aberdeen SouthDakota (@AberdeenSouthDa) September 25, 2022
* Israeli Right Condemns Lapid Over Two States Speech at U.N. Newsweek
* Palestinian President Abbas calls on Israel to resume negotiations… https://t.co/OFUuawooC5
The buying and selling of Illegal weapons in what would be the future state of Palestine according to Lapid’s speech is the biggest task, as of today it the most common criminal act which is committed daily. Last week alone saw hundreds of weapons seized as smugglers were trying to bring them from the real Palestinian state of Jordan into the West Bank.
every Israeli knows too bluntly: Palestinian rejectionism is by far the main obstacle to peace, and any mention of "2-state" short of a plan to dismantle this obstacle is a ticket to futile negotiations and painful disappointments. I'm afraid Abas will ignore the ELEPHANT.
— Judea Pearl (@yudapearl) September 23, 2022
3/3
A quick and simple Google Search on “Illegal weapons West Bank” reveals the truth, that disarming the various factions and offshoots of militant factions is an impossible task to achieve. Any Israel Defense Force conscript will admit that more than the thrilling Hollywood action movie-worthy missions they perhaps participated in once or twice (and most never see), there are hundreds of missions where the goal is simply to confiscate illegal weapons.
So, where are all these weapons coming from? Some, come from thefts on IDF bases, others are referred to as “ghost guns” or in other words weapons that did not exist, but were literally homemade, while the majority come from terrorist organizations, sponsored by State actors like Iran and Qatar. Did Lapid envision an American-style “weapons-drop off” center all throughout the West Bank where locals can give up their numerous weapons and ammo for a gift certificate to the local version of Best Buy? Obviously not. One other thing Lapid obviously did not address was how to force the demilitarization of terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and The Islamic Jihad.
What leader of a terrorist organization would gladly give up all his missiles and foreign funding for a state he will not get to lead? And if your train of thought forecasts a scenario in which these terrorists run newly-born Palestine, then you are willing to imagine a terrorist-funded neighbor not next to Israel, but within its midst as Judea and Samaria are intricately important areas of the Jewish State.
The point mentioned in the latter takes me straight to the next puzzle. Who did Lapid imagine as leading a Palestinian government? Will he negotiate the terms and conditions with the Palestinian Authority, where the man who designed the Munich massacre, Mahmoud Abbas leads after being elected nearly 15 years ago to a four-year term, or with Hamas which publicly slaughtered P.A. security and anyone sympathetic to them when they launched a coup in Gaza? His natural choice was probably the P.A., because they are no longer defined as terrorists, but wouldn’t that spark a sharp, likely militarized, response by Hamas who sees itself as the leader of the resistance? All these questions are too redundant for the average Israeli and even the Arabs themselves.
Hadash and Communist Party of Israel Dismiss “Two States” Lapid’s UN Speech | Communist Party of Israel 🤔 https://t.co/xBtSSBT8nH
— Paul Patrick (@PaulTyredagh81) September 24, 2022
Say all logistical nightmares can actually be resolved; all weapons are willingly exchanged for gift certificates and all factions of the Palestinian cause unite. What are the borders of Palestine according to Lapid’s vision? Is he imagining the standard 1967, pre-six-day-war borders? If so what is to be done about the close to million Israelis who live over those lines, including the soon-to-be IDF Chief-of-Staff Herzi Halevi? Incidentally, Halevi is the first Chief of Staff in the nation's history to live over the flawed yet, internationally significant 'Green-Line,' a move that many in Israel see as a clear message that Israel's centrist leadership sees the Jewish West Bank communities as Israel-proper.
The unanswered and never to be answered questions that are derived from the two-state solution are endless, and Lapid like most Israelis is well aware of that. The only question that may have an answer is, why did Lapid deliver such a speech knowing none of what he said is realistically feasible? Optics? Votes?
It does not look like Lapid's decision to support a two-state solution has made a negative impact on the voters. If anything, Lapid gained a seat or two. https://t.co/z99m9Eppr6
— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) September 28, 2022
The question for most rational Israeli politicians on either the left or right has never actually been can a Palestinian state be created because the answer is obvious to all with access to the basic 'confidential' information even the 18-year-old cooks and truck drivers in the IDF have. The question in Israeli politics is ‘do we constantly leave the offer on the table until the world realizes there is no real partner on the other end, that the negotiation table is totally empty on one side, or ‘do we simply ignore international pressure and continue on paths that can actually benefit Israelis, Arabs, and the entire region’?
"The PA hasn’t been able to persuade Palestinian society of the urgency of separating into two states; that’s because it doesn’t seem to have a real vision for how this state should look,” Israeli PM Lapid tells Haaretzhttps://t.co/l0qntKNCYo
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) September 25, 2022
Lapid chose the path of appeasement. An honorable one some might say, others would call him a coward standing behind grand promises. Israel is no longer a country that needs to appease, if anything, it is getting to the point where others may need to appease the Zionist state.
