מרכז הליכוד הוציא תעודת פטירה לרעיון של שתי מדינות, והשמיים לא נפלו
התברר שאפשר לעשות שינויים מרחיקי לכת במזרח התיכון מבלי שישראל תשלם על כך מחיר בלתי אפשרי. מרכז הליכוד בסך הכל אותת לנתניהו להרים את הכפפה
מיכאל קליינר, מעריב 5/15/2018
http://www.maariv.co.il/journalists/Article-616639
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Likud Central Issues a Death Certificate for the "Two-States" Idea, and the Sky did not Fall
It seems that it is possible to make far-reaching changes in the Middle East without Israel being asked to pay an impossible price for it. The Likud Central Committee signals to Netanyahu to take up the Challenge
Maariv, January 5th 2018, Michael Kleiner
Originally written in Hebrew .
Translated to English by Sally Zahav for the Sovereignty Movement
The Arabs are still the same Arabs; the sea is still the same sea; and the Jewish People, the same People. The first two parts of this immortal saying were coined by Yitzhak Shamir, obm, former prime minister and head of the Likud. The last part of the saying can be added on, starting this week. From the moment that Likud Central, the People's party, approved the historic resolution to continue the way of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Menahem Begin and Shamir, by striving to apply Israeli law in Judea and Samaria.
Anyone who dismisses the importance of this resolution simply is not aware of the workings of history. The Likud and its predecessor, the Herut Party, viewed the integrity of the Land as much more than its guiding principle. For the Likud the objection to dividing the Land is even more than a guiding principle. It is the basis of its identity; it is the reason for its existence. Like objection to Sabbath desecration for the Yahadut Hatorah party. Even though the resolution is declarative and not binding, its importance cannot be exaggerated.
The last time the Likud made such a declarative, non-binding resolution consistent with its DNA was when Ariel Sharon conducted a referendum among the members of the Likud on the future of the Disengagement. As we recall, Sharon, who wanted to promote the program, lost the referendum. This resulted in the Political disengagement plan preceding the government's Disengagement plan: Sharon disengaged from the Likud.
Sharon had to leave together with a number of MKs that went along with him, establishing the Kadima party in order to execute a disastrous plan which must never be repeated, according to the current consensus. A political price was also paid: within the next two elections, Kadima collapsed, the MKs that comprised it were scattered in all directions or they repented and returned to their source and the Kadima party totally disappeared from the political map. The Likud maintained its characteristic values and survived.
Many people tend to think that Yitzhak Shamir's Likud was removed from power because of a wave of criticism summarized by the slogan: "We're sick of you corrupt people", especially because of the political stagnation. The truth lies elsewhere. Shamir did do some things that demonstrated his dedication to the Likud's ideology, but they seemed small compared to the fact that he had participated in an international committee dealing with territorial solutions to the Jewish-Arab conflict.
His position on subjects that even then were no longer clear to the public, such as preventing a representative of the Palestinian diaspora and a representative from eastern Jerusalem from participating, created an impression at the time of political stubbornness, but not in Likud Central. His participation in the committee was perceived as a threat to the Likud's DNA, having a critical effect on the mood of the activists in the field and the general morale. Accusations of corruption did not stick to Shamir and were not strong enough to remove him from power. The activities of the "hoopsters", who fought against participating in the Madrid Conference, undermined his political status much more than concern over corruption in the center of the structure.
Ostensibly, you would expect that if it was only Shamir's participation in the Madrid Conference that led to the fall of his government, the Bar Ilan speech should have brought down Netanyahu's government. That did not happen. But the only reason that Netanyahu survived the Bar Ilan speech, which speaks of two states for two peoples, was the fact that no one believed him. Likud people know, or at least think they know, where Netanyahu stands and when his right eye blinks. They also know when it is just lip service. This week this idea was reinforced.
Netanyahu, like previous party heads, has always known how to wield his influence, his authority and the legal tools that are allocated to him as part of his position as head of the Likud, in order to delay, to torpedo, to crush and to eliminate those political resolutions that do not suit him. This time a thunderous silence was heard from the prime minister's office in Jerusalem. There will be some, of course, who will attribute the silence at this time to tactical considerations both related and unrelated. I do not share this view.
I am reminded, ironically, of Benny Begin's reaction after the Bar Ilan speech, when he was asked how he could work with Netanyahu after he had adopted the two-states principle, which is contrary to the ideological foundation of Likud and certainly against that of Benny Begin himself. "It is better to have a prime minister who speaks of the two-states idea but doesn't believe in it, than to have a prime minister that also believes in it", he said.
Thanks to the small details
The only problem with the Likud resolution this week is that it is a little bit late, by 40 years (since the 1977 turnover of government to Likud). In the first place, it was Menahem Begin who agreed to freeze the application of Israeli law in Judea and Samaria (and Gaza Strip). His insisted that the Israeli claim for sovereignty over those territories be part of "the agreement on the framework for peace with the Arab states", which was also signed at Camp David and was confirmed by the Knesset along with the peace agreement with the Egyptians.
Begin dwelled considerably on this agreement, which concerned, among other things, the status of both the Arab and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria. The peace agreement with Egypt almost collapsed because of this matter and not because of the uprooting of communities from Sinai. Begin again declared (taking care that his declaration would be cited in the body of the agreement) that in future negotiations, Israel would insist on applying Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria while granting broad autonomy to the local Arab population. This is why he objected so vociferously to the wording that was included in the draft, according to which the agreement, "will take into consideration the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people".
The amended wording that was accepted as a compromise was: Taking into consideration also the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. For Begin, the significance of including the word "also" is that for the first time since Resolution 242 in 1967 by the Security Council, there would be international recognition of rights in addition to the Arabs' rights, in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. And this means, of course, the Jews' rights. Begin also insisted on defining the Palestinians as "people" and not as a "nation", to clarify that the Arabs in Judea and Samaria have civil rights but not national rights.
From a historical viewpoint, Likud Central's resolution is in keeping with Menahem Begin's insistence on the small details, which was not understood by the Egyptians, the Americans, and even to Ezer Weizmann and Moshe Dayan, his partners in the Israeli delegation to Camp David. The Likud platform for elections remains as it was in all that concerns the integrity of the western Land of Israel between the Jordan and the Sea, but Netanyahu's declaration in the Bar Ilan speech was perceived as a prelude to a changing trend in Likud's policy. The resolution this week clarified that the Likud Party totally rejects any such trend.
The Likud, in its supreme body, unanimously and with the support of all of its key members, signaled to Netanyahu that lip service is no longer acceptable. That the time has come to stand erect as a national body and demand aloud, the legitimate rights of the Jewish People in these parts of its historical homeland. Likud Central reads the world map. The change in the American administration. The sense that Trump is made from different stuff than that of his predecessors. That now is the perfect time for a change. To straighten the crooked path. To change the world. For "Tikun olam" - to improve the world.
They used to speak about a "window of opportunity" for a new Middle East. This is exactly what Likud Central did when it issued an official death certificate for the idea of two states for two peoples. Trump took the first step in recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. History took wing. The sky did not fall. On the contrary, it seems that it is possible to make far-reaching changes in the Middle East without Israeli having to pay an unreasonable and impossible price. Likud Central has signaled to Netanyahu to take up the challenge. Not to fear the world's response. To simply do what is right. And what is right is to apply Israeli law in Judea and Samaria over all Jewish communities as a first step.
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