Dr. Guy Ziv
Undermining Israel's security
Op-ed: Right foolishly obsessed with freeze, thereby harming Israel's real security needs
The old myth that the Right can be counted on to protect Israel’s security has, once again, been punctured and deflated. In recent days, Members of Knesset and cabinet members on the right flank of the Likud and their hawkish allies have expressed vehement opposition to the proposed US aid package – the latest reminder that what concerns the Right is land, not security.
Foolishly, the Right is lobbying against one of the most generous deals that Washington has offered the Jewish state in many years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s arrangement would provide Israel with 20 F-35 warplanes, as part of a package of security goodies worth $3 billion, in return for a one-time, 90-day extension of the settlement freeze, which expired last September. Included is a US guarantee to block any Palestinian attempt to declare a state unilaterally by vetoing such a move in the United Nations Security Council.
In essence, Israel would gain highly advanced military equipment and a pledge of unparalleled political protection by the world’s most powerful state in exchange for a short-term building moratorium.
The resistance to the pending deal voiced by two of Netanyahu’s vice premiers, Moshe Ya’alon and Silvan Shalom, as well as other hardliners in the Likud Knesset faction, poses a grave threat to Israel’s security in several important ways.
First, the $3 billion deal would double the number of stealth aircraft the US has agreed to provide Israel in addition to other, unspecified military assistance. As senior IDF and defense ministry officials have pointed out, these fifth-generation fighters are critical to Israel’s current defense needs.
Second, continued foot-dragging on the peace process and the ongoing provocation of settlement activity threatens to seriously erode Israel’s relationship with a host of major global powers, including its most important ally: the United States. If the right prevails and US mediation efforts are rebuffed, it will feed into the narrative of those in Washington who see Israel as a liability, rather than an asset.
Impasse to lead to violence
Third, and most importantly, the expansion of settlements jeopardizes Netanyahu’s stated goal of a two-state solution to the conflict. Although Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad have hardly displayed bold diplomatic leadership, they constitute the most moderate and pragmatic Palestinian peace partners to date. Failure to conclude an agreement with them risks, in the immediate term, their replacement with a more extreme leadership with whom it may not be possible to reach an agreement.
Moreover, a prolonged diplomatic impasse will invariably lead to renewed violence, Israeli countermeasures and a potentially dangerous mix of international condemnations, boycotts, and attempts to impose a solution that would surely not be favorable to Israel.
In the long term, the status quo threatens the very future of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Demographic trends are clear: If Israel maintains control of the West Bank, the majority of its inhabitants will eventually be Palestinian, not Jewish. The window of opportunity for a two-state solution is quickly coming to a close.
This is why one can see a tactical shift toward supporting a one-state solution among the younger guard in the PLO, who are skeptical of Israel’s intentions regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state; they recognize that time is increasingly on their side.
At a time when Israel faces threats from Hamas in the south, Hezbollah in the north, and Iran in the east, the Right is foolishly obsessing over a temporary halt to settlement construction, thereby undermining efforts to address Israel’s real security needs.
Dr. Guy Ziv is Assistant Professor at American University’s School of International Service in Washington, D.C.
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