Why a Two-State Solution Will Never Happen

Someone posted on Facebook about how calling for a two-state solution could be seen as being antisemitic. 

I am attaching a photo below, an excerpt from a book I'm currently reading called "The Jew Is Not My Enemy," by Terek Fatah. As an Indian born in Pakistan and raised as a Muslim, Fatah unveils the myths that fuel Muslim antisemitism. The highlighted portions speak volumes and are important to understand in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

While I do not believe that those who do call for this solution are doing so out of animosity, I do think that people who claim a two-solution is possible are either ignorant or ignore the reality of the situation which is that the Palestinian leadership and many Palestinians have made it clear that they have no intention of living peacefully with Jews as their neighbors. 

This was what I wrote in response.

"Of course a two-state solution would be ideal but many Palestinians and the leadership which they elected are (very openly) vehemently against living with Jews as their neighbors. Even in the West Bank where you have Jews and Palestinians living side by side, we have run into so many issues (and lost lives) because many Palestinians simply do not believe Jews belong there. So when people are against the two-state solution many are coming from that perspective which is that it clearly won’t work. One side simply refuses to be satisfied. A Palestinian state was offered many times. Land was given up (Gaza in 2005 look at what happened) and offers were rejected. So to say a two-state solution is the way to go sounds nice but it hasn’t ever worked in the past. And knowing what Palestinians say openly and proudly about not ever going to live with Jews, as well as the number of Jews killed because of that mentality... it’s sort of fair to see why people might think it’s anti-Semitic. Jews have done enough to appease and shouldn’t have to put their safety on the line any longer to make people who hate them satisfied which is what a two-state solution would take. Calling for a two-state solution is ignoring the facts and essentially saying that Israel should put its safety on the line and concede to further abuse."

Palestinian's "Catastrophe"

Palestinians mark the day of Israel's independence as “Nakba Day”, Day of the Catastrophe.

Here’s their “catastrophe”:

7 Arab armies declared war on the Jewish State in 1948 & invaded Israel in order to slaughter the Jews. They lost. The Palestinians want Israel to apologize for refusing to be massacred.

(I copied and pasted this with credit to Aksil Rf)

Someone claimed I diminished their suffering as a people for putting the word catastrophe in quotation marks. Here is why I will continue to use quotation marks:

"I’m not diminishing their suffering. Both sides have suffered, of course. If anything I feel sorry for the Palestinians who want peace and have to put up with a governing body that doesn’t care for them (except many Palestinians support them anyway). I’m saying (or what I have copied and pasted) people complain about how much Palestinians have suffered while ignoring the reasons and their part in causing it. They ignore everything that happened and only focus on their story. They don’t care about how Jews accepted what we were given and the Palestinians rejected. Or how the Arab countries told them to leave so they can kill all Jews and then they were all upset and still hold refugee status because they refuse to have it any other way. My parents were refugees as were most of my friends’. Why don’t I have refugee status? Because we move on instead of whining. Or how we offered land though we acquired the land legally. One can say they have suffered and that they also whine. Also, it’s one thing to suffer and another to then continue perpetuating your own suffering. They want peace? They should have accepted the first two-state solution which was the partition plan. I feel no remorse for those who turn to murdering Jews because they're unhappy with how things played out for them. Again this isn’t all Palestinians. I’m referring to those who turn to violence and self-pity. Everyone has choices and theirs is to murder and act like victims. The thousands of Jews kicked out of Arab countries could have chosen the same path but instead, they took what they were given and made the best of it. And still do. Both sides have suffered. Look how each has dealt with their suffering."

At What Point Does Israel’s Being Moral Actually Become Immoral?

I wrote this exactly a year ago in November, which reminded me that the recent escalation we just had in Israel marked a year since last year's major escalation with Gaza. I figured I'd share it since I spent the time writing it and never actually did anything with it. Perhaps some of you will agree with my views. PDF here. 
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Opinion: At What Point Does Israel’s Being Moral Actually Become Immoral?

In light of the current events in southern Israel along the Gaza border, there is much frustration consuming not only members of the Israeli government but also Israelis and Zionists alike.

November of last year saw a record-high number of rockets targeting southern Israel, making it the heaviest bombardment since the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist organization governing the Palestinians living in Gaza. This attack came after months of Palestinians flying incendiary kites and balloons into Israel and starting fires along the Gaza border, both of which have resulted in an overwhelming amount of agricultural terrorism. This attack came several days after Israel allowed $15 million to enter Gaza from Qatar, in order to get Hamas to stop the riots on the border and the burning of Israeli land.

When Hamas called a cease-fire right after targeting Israel with about 460 rockets, Israel accepted it. It is a common practice for Hamas to attack Israel, receive an equal and restraint-focused response from Israel, and then to decide to pause its little game when it can't face what it essentially asked for.

Israel’s Security Cabinet on Wednesday reversed its decision not to permit the Qatari transfer of $15 million, the third installment approved by Israel’s government, in order to ease tensions and avoid a potential humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The initial decision not to permit the funding stemmed from renewed Palestinian rioting and violence along the Gaza-Israel border

Despite multiple opportunities for statehood and peace, continuous aid and support from Israel, as well as receiving international aid- the Palestinian people are still represented under refugee status. In fact, they have held this status for the longest amount of time out of all refugee populations to ever exist. This isn't too surprising, considering the fact that humanitarian aid is used to fund rockets, terror tunnels and incendiary devices, and to pay terrorists and their families. While Abbas continues to admit to using the money for these reasons alone, the international community and Israel sustain this practice directly through their actions.

Israel even gave up Gaza for peace back in 2005. Thousands of Israelis were forcibly removed from their homes by the Israeli government, and those families are now the ones dealing with rockets being sent from the very land they gave up so that they would never have to deal with such terror at all. The government that forced them out of their homes for peace is the very same government that now will not take the necessary steps to protect them from harm and imminent death. Despite all of this, Israel continues to provide the Palestinians with humanitarian aid because the Palestinian leadership does not.

Although there are Palestinians who want peace and are willing to work alongside Israelis, can we rely on this argument alone? Look what happened just several months ago with the Barkan terrorist. Can we take chances with Israeli lives? Do their lives not matter as much as the Palestinians'? Although much of the world seems to think so, why does Israel seem to accept this view? Even if the government states that it does not hold this view, its actions (or its lack thereof) send a different message.

While some argue that it is important for Israel to provide aid for those in the Gaza Strip who are suffering at the hands of their government, others argue that Israel must put its people first- as any other country would and should do. They question why Israel must hold up its moral standards when so many Palestinians do not. Why the double standard?

Why is Israel, a country of good moral standing, negotiating with terrorists? Why does the fate of the security of the state of Israel have to be under the terms of Hamas? Even more critical, is it moral to give those who hate you and could potentially cause more harm to you and others (sending children as suicide bombers, targeting civilians, forcing civilians to enter what are essentially war zones) any form of aid?

It is unfortunate that one must even grapple with the concept of morality, however, what more can be expected when dealing with terrorists? While I feel an innate desire to maintain a "moral" view on this issue and feel pain at the thought of others suffering, I do not view these ideas as a lack of moral clarity. Not anymore. Not at this point in the game. I can no longer bear to see Israelis living in bomb shelters and crying out for help. They have sacrificed more than enough. Nobody else will help them. How could the people running the single Jewish state abandon them too?

We must question what our sensitivity has done for the betterment of the situation, people's lives, our country, and the peace process. Our sensitivity does not seem to have helped us all that much.

At what point has Israel's being moral actually become immoral? Israel has continued along this path of providing aid for so long, and Israeli lives are still threatened and directly affected by the actions of those who the country is upholding. How can we sacrifice the safety and wellbeing of our people, for those who would not consider, even for a moment, sacrificing for us?

How can Israel justify the sending of millions of dollars and aid when Hamas is still holding the bodies of Israel’s captured soldiers and when the Palestinian people celebrate the murder of Israeli civilians? What kind of message does this send to our soldiers, those who have died for Israel, to Israelis in the south and in general, and to the world?