Netanyahu Announces Settlement Freeze

There is a reason that I prefer Likud to Labour and Kadima, and there is a reason I prefer the National Union (HaIchud HaLeumi) to the Likud.  The Likud is a center right party.  It will go along with many international interests, but will stand up for itself in many cases.  National Union will fight for what it believes no matter what.

So, it is with sadness that I read that Bibi, my hope following a horrible term under Ehud Olmert, has decided to give in to pressures to halt settlement growth.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last night that Israel will impose a 10 month settlement growth freeze aimed at pushing the Palestinians toward a historic peace agreement.

The outstretched hand to the Palestinians does not include any part of Jerusalem, it only includes Judea and Samaria communities.  I have friends and family in those communities, and my heart goes out to those who are seeing Israel inching closer to removing them from their homes.

So, now, the ball is in their court.  Netanyahu took a painful step that people in his own party are furious over.  A part of me says he is completely wrong, a part says that I should trust him.  Either way, it is too late to look back and it is time to look at what is going to come and the possible benefits and drawbacks of this announcement.

Optimally, the Palestinians would take the outstretched hand of Israel and work toward a lasting and fair peace agreement where terrorism would end and we could each live our lives safely and in peace.  However, there are still many issues in the way of that peace.

First, and most obvious, is that a deal with Mahmoud Abbas is worth almost nothing.  He speaks for West Bank Palestinians affiliated with Fatah only, and even his supporters have been weary lately.  His leadership is faltering, and Hamas leaders in Gaza do not respect him or any deal he makes.  Therefore, a peace deal would not eliminate terrorist rocket attacks or terrorism in general.

Second, also very important, is the issue of Israel’s borders.  The Palestinians claim everything they had before the 1967 war as their territory if they are going to sign a peace deal.  Again, Hamas claims everything in the region as Islamic land.  So, the tens of thousands of Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria are faced with a pending doom.  They have lived in those homes for many years.  As I quoted prior to the Gaza withdrawal, “Yehudi lo migaresh Yehudi,” a Jew does not exile a Jew.  The “West Bank” is a part of Israel proper as far as I am concerned, and giving away holy cities such as Hebron and Jewish areas such as Gush Etzion is not an option.

The biblical Eretz Yisrael, or Land of Israel, stretches from Iraq to the Mediterranean Sea.  I am not suggesting the Jewish people go on an imperialist expansion and take over Jordan and Iraq.  I do, however, argue that we have a very tiny place in the world, that is smaller than New Jersey, and we should fight as hard as we have to in order to keep it.  The Jewish people have gone through far too much in the last few thousand years to simply give up our small homeland.

As always, I am interested in your thoughts as well.  Please give your opinions in the comments, if you agree or not.