The 1993 Oslo Accords, signed by Israel and the PLO, created international abnormalities because, although they made the Palestinian Authority a recognized state authority, its leaders did everything possible to continue operating like a terrorist organization.
The PA encouraged Palestinian terrorist organizations – including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad – to carry out violent attacks that led to the murder of hundreds of Israelis while they spoke in English about peace.
With the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in October 2000, it had become a major and active player in leading the violence against thousands of innocent Israeli civilians.
Not only that, even the PA’s main supporters know it’s a corrupt authority that, in the last 26 years, has received $35 billion from the international community to build a state for the Palestinians, but instead has spent most of its money on causes that have led to its destruction: not only via terrorism but also incitement. Not by growth and creation but by deceleration and demolition.
When we focus on these facts, it is very sad to look at the EU’s irrelevant and impractical positions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After President Trump’s Deal of the Century was published, EU Foreign Policy Chief Joseph Burrell attacked not only Trump but Israel as well!
This approach is strange. After all, since World War II, Europeans have been repeatedly preaching that we cannot say no to peace plans. “Give a peace a chance” is a slogan we have heard over and over from Europeans during the worst of the terrorist attacks. And here, yet again, those same Europeans refuse to follow their own advice when it comes to President Trump’s plan.
So, for those unfamiliar with history, it is important to understand a few things: In 1937, 1947 and 2000, representatives of the international community proposed to divide the Land of Israel into two states. Every time the Jews said yes, and the Arabs said no. Each time, they also began a wave of terror and violence.
Not only that, these waves of violence have led Israel to find creative solutions to impossible situations and have helped Israel to become a high-tech superpower. Each time, those who were the focus of criticism were not those who attacked innocent people but those who were attacked—us Israelis.
Looking back, we all understand that this paradigm has failed. Albert Einstein once said that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” An approach like Burell’s reflects this, as outdated perceptions of a Palestinian state need to be replaced by realistic perceptions, and Trump’s Deal of the Century is just that.
If the EU wants peace, it must support it. The deal is excellent because it is realistic. It promises to apply Israeli sovereignty to Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, to abolish the Palestinian right of return to Israel, and international recognition of a united Jerusalem as Israel’s capital that ensures full religious freedom for all.
It also guarantees Palestinian recognition of a Jewish state and changes the pattern that had led to failure of the preceding plans, and tens of thousands of deaths in the bloody conflict.
At the same time, many Israelis who previously opposed the idea of a Palestinian state can now accept it because this deal requires Palestinians to stop any acts of violence and invest $50 billion in those who actually seek to build a peaceful future. EU states should understand the economic factor most of all, since economic success is what led to peace on the European continent.
In 1948, the armies of several Arab states tried to invade Israel to prevent its establishment. By 2020, Arab rulers are mostly welcoming the Deal of the Century. They know why. They also understand that anyone who wants to change the situation in the Middle East for the better must support the deal. This is a new game for the Middle East.