The Occupied Territories Revisited

This article is lengthy but it is one of the best review articles relating to Israel's recent history that I have seen.

If you have some time and a lot of interest, here it is, complete with maps, topography, strategic vulnerabilities and threatening rocket ranges.

The Occupied Territories Revisited: the Doctrine of Defensible Borders

Just a couple of introductory quotes below:

It's a puzzle - isn't it? A a tiny state of a few million industrious souls is viewed as a truculent, sneering imperialist bully. Surely there's a story behind such a cognitive burr. Why would we dispute the morality of a nation that retains territory of high military value gained in a defensive war?

At bottom, Israel is seen by its enemies as a blemish on the regional caliphate and a rent in the fabric of pan-Arabism. This viewpoint was stated with spareness and clarity during the run-up to the 1967 Six-Day War by then Iraqi President Abdel-Rahman Aref who said in a radio interview

"The existence of Israel is an error which must be rectified." With refreshing directness, for a head of state, he added "This is our opportunity to wipe out the ignominy which has been with us since 1948. Our goal is clear - to wipe Israel off the map."

The probability of a negotiated peace is vanishingly small given the philosophical moorings of Israel's neighbors; they will only temporize as they maneuver to eliminate the stain, the "error which must be rectified." Illustrative is the Islamic principle hudna, for cease-fire, understood to mean a truce that is maintained until the balance of power changes. A related concept is taqiyya, which is the practice of deception, legitimated by the Koran, to advance Islam geopolitically.

The above really just introduces this detailed piece, which describes what has happened in the region since 1948, and how we have gotten to the situation that we see today. A little bit more of the introduction:

It follows then that Arab strategists reformulated their approach toward the destruction of Israel after their defeat in the Six-Day War. They have, for decades now, waged an economic, diplomatic and propaganda campaign whose object is to isolate Israel and shrink her to indefensible size and configuration.

A key element of this strategy was the refusal to absorb Arab refugees into Arab countries to perpetuate the meme of the homeless, beleaguered Palestinian people.

The doctrine of defensible borders was reaffirmed last year by current PM Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel's further challenge is to enforce that military defensibility of its borders be self-reliantly robust, as much as possible. Its security arrangements cannot be dependent on transitory political conditions in the US or the Arab states, whose overt hostility to Israel waxes and wanes but whose ingrained commitment to its destruction is well-nigh a law of nature.

This one is worth bookmarking and keeping around for reference.

One aspect of the land giveaway (if it occurs) is crystal clear: If Israel gives up the West Bank and the Golan Heights, they will be placed in a very weak and vulnerable position - a situation that will most certainly invite future attacks.

On the other hand, we know that Israel will be placed in such a dire situation that only God's direct intervention can rescue them. With that in mind, we can rest assured that all of this is part of a bigger plan.