This is a powder keg. The fire will consume us all
The government is making every effort to justify the apartheid claim against Israel and increase friction. Thus, a difficult event like the one that occurred in Samaria will become our daily routine everywhere in the country.
In response to the incident on Friday, Israel's two "great strategists," Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Katz, published an official statement on "accelerating the regulation of farms and establishing new ones." There is no better way to fund Hamas or raise the level of terror. One can pay Qatar, and then the intention is at least to buy quiet. Or one can add farms and outposts to increase friction, and then there is not even a good intention. Raising the level of violence — there is, and how. It is worth going back for a moment and zooming out.
The demand of many peoples for self-determination led to the end of the era of empires. Nation-states were established. One of the results was a huge wave of population exchanges and expulsions. This was the way to realize the national vision, and in addition — to prevent conflicts that are the result of mixing populations. The first international court (Permanent Court of International Justice) determined in the 30s that this is the effective way to establish peace. Winston Churchill stated in a speech, towards the end of World War II, that a large wave of transfers must be carried out. For the same reason: mixing populations causes bloodshed. And it happened.
Yugoslavia in the 90s deteriorated into a war of all against all, was occupied incessantly, and created seven separate national entities. Some will say: if this is the international solution, then let's go, let's expel the Arabs. But that already happened. The Israeli-Arab conflict caused two Nakbas — Palestinian and Jewish. There were population exchanges. We established a nation-state. Arabs left, some fled, some were expelled, to Arab countries. Jews arrived from Arab countries to the Jewish state. Some fled, some were expelled. So we have already gone through the experience. Israel's haters, as is their habit, exalt only the Palestinian Nakba, describing it as a crime, even though in those years it was the norm. And they, of course, again as is their habit, ignore the Jewish Nakba, which caused a larger number of Jews to arrive in Israel. Mixing hostile populations has not succeeded anywhere in the world. There is no reason it should work specifically for us. The result is a Jewish and democratic state, which grants rights to the Arab minority, even if there is always room for improvements.
In contrast, Jewish control over the Arabs of Judea and Samaria is considered apartheid. This is a lie. Because as long as Israel extended a hand for peace, and the Palestinians preferred rejectionism, Hamas and terror — Israel must continue control, until a Palestinian leadership arises that will prefer peace, reconciliation and prosperity over revenge, terror and aspirations of annihilation. However, the current government is making every effort to defeat Israel, to justify the apartheid claim and to increase friction so that the bloodshed continues. So that a bloody event like the one that happened in Samaria becomes our daily routine, and not just in Samaria.
The security hold in the territories is justified. A withdrawal now will cause the establishment of a Hamas state. But establishing more and more farms is a kick to the righteousness of the path. There are settlement blocs. According to all peace proposals, they will remain under Israeli sovereignty. And the Jordan must remain the security border. But even without peace, we do not want Hamas supporters to settle in our neighborhood or village or kibbutz. Because the result is known in advance. By the same token, it is folly to establish farms in the heart of an Arab population, even if the founders do not resemble Hamas people. What has not worked anywhere in the world, between hostile populations, there is no reason it should work specifically for us.
And even if it seemed that the "farm boys" were nature lovers who went out on Friday to pick flowers inside an Arab village, the result clarifies that they insist on dragging us into a national tragedy. The fire will consume us all. And if there were doubts, then yesterday, during the Sabbath, despite the blood that was spilled, and in order to spill more blood, they returned to the same village. The anti-Zionist right aspires to expulsion. It will not happen. What was acceptable in the past is not acceptable today. Whoever insists on more farms in the heart of an Arab population, with an endless cycle of terror and "price tag," insists on turning Israel into a pariah state, which will suffer from an expanding boycott that will lead to collapse. This is the anti-Zionist vision. We must not get there, even though Netanyahu and Katz, and not just Smotrich and Ben Gvir, insist on leading us there. In order not to get there, we need to return the steering wheel of the state to Zionist hands. In three months, this must happen.
