I've heard of "Land for Peace"...
as that's all we've heard for decades - give the Paestinians Gaza and the West Bank so they can have their own state. I don't think anyone is generally against the two state idea, except the Palestinians and their supporters. As I pointed out here and here (and lots of places out in the blogosphere), their goal is the complete elimination of the State of Israel. No amount of diplomacy is going to change this (in my opinion). The latest attempt by Israel, with actions behind the words, was to give up land for peace - Gaza.
I just saw this concept, however, and I like it! Due to the fact that the currency in Middle East politics is force, this turns the idea of land for peace on its head (like the bear finally swatting the fly). From Right Wing News:
"In place of "Land for Peace," the Israeli political activist and columnist Yael Amishav (who happens to be married to my father) suggests a new concept of "Land for Terror." For each terror attack across the border, Israel will seize more land --- establishing a publicly declared ratio of acres-per-casualties. The seizures must be firm, decisive and immediate-- and long term, if not permanent. "The Land for Terror" concept guarantees negative consequences for outrageous behavior. If Palestinian leaders refuse to rein in the terrorist mass murderers, then they will see their little empire (established by Oslo) begin to shrink, piece by piece. It's not a pretty concept, or an easy one to enforce. But "Land for Terror" makes more logical sense than "Land for Peace." -- Michael Medved
Instead of rewarding mere words (and often, bad behavior), this would discipline bad behavior - act badly, you lose land - for good. Act badly more, lose more land - for good. Stop acting badly, keep your land.
Would this force the Palestinians to act nicely? At this point, nothing short of the complete dismantlement of Israel will suffice for them. However, it may help the process of turning the PR war around. By stating that "this is our reaction for attacks" (instead of doing mostly nothing as they have for years), the Israelis give themselves a foundation for defending themselves.
And they will have the grounds for speaking in the tongue of Middle Eastern politics - force.
Comments
Posted by: DCE | July 13, 2006 3:54 PM
Posted by: Skip | July 13, 2006 4:08 PM
Posted by: doug | July 13, 2006 5:13 PM