Die neue israelische Regierung glaubt, Siedlungsbau und Besatzung des Westjordanlandes als Nebenprobleme herunterspielen zu können. Aber es gibt auch kritische Stimmen in der israelischen Öffentlichkeit, die dies als große Fehler ansehen, so wie etwa mein Held, der Haaretz-Kolumnist Bradley Burston („A Special Place in Hell“):
Both the Jews and the Palestinians have valid claims to the Holy Land. If the Holy Land is to be shared, Israelis and Palestinians both will have to sacrifice legitimate grievances for the sake of a livable future, one which honors ancestors by making it possible for children to grow and thrive.
Finally, and most importantly, it is time for Jews to recognize how lethal the occupation is, to the idea of maintaining a Jewish state.
When right-wing Jews say that all of the Holy Land, the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel proper, belongs to the Jews alone, they are in effect de-legitimizing Israel. They are adding fuel to the arguments of Hamas, which views all of Israel, West Jerusalem, Haifa, and Sderot alike, to be occupied Arab land.
In the end, the question of whether Israel will be a Jewish state will not depend on what the Palestinians say, but on what the Jews do.
It is time to follow Ariel Sharon’s example and call the occupation what it is. It is time for Zionists to stand up and declare strong support for Israel and strong opposition to the occupation. Not for the sake of the Palestinians. For Israel’s sake.
„Controlling 3.5 million Palestinians cannot go on forever,“ Sharon told a weekly meeting of stunned Likud leaders, Netanyahu among them, in May, 2003. „You want to remain in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem?“
„The idea that it is possible to continue keeping 3.5 million Palestinians under occupation – yes, it is occupation, you might not like the word, but what is happening is occupation – is bad for Israel, and bad for the Palestinians, and bad for the Israeli economy,“ Sharon said.
If the last 40 years are any indication, the Palestinians will be able to survive the occupation. A healthy state of Israel will not.