The Case for Israel

The land allocated to the Arabs was also contiguous with and proximate to Transjordan, whose population has always been predominantly Palestinian, although a Hashemite monarchy was imposed on the population by Great Britain.

Not only was Jenin not a massacre or an unparalled catastrophe but it is regarded by many as a model of how to conduct urban warfare against terrorists hiding among civilians.

Put another way, the question was whether the Wilson principle of self-determination would allow each group to control its own people and its own destiny. To this question, the grand mufti had a simple answer: no for the Jews; yes for the Muslims.

terrorism succeeds in securing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, why should it not continue to be used to secure what the vast majority of Palestinians say they want?

Until the world acknowledges that the Arab refusal to accept the existence of Israel following the U.N. partition created an exchange of population that must now be deemed to be permanent, there will be no prospect of peace between the Arabs and Israel.

Experience shows that when Israel did not respond firmly to Palestinian terrorism, more terrorism followed, and when Israel took appropriate military steps, the number and severity of terrorist attacks were reduced.

Palestinian terrorism preceded the occupation as the tactic of choice.

Again it was brought home to Israel that its Arab enemies could afford to lose war after war with no threat to their existence and no danger to their civilian populations. But if Israel lost even a single war, it could mean the end of the Jewish state, a massacre of its civilian population, and the transfer of surviving refugees out of the country.

Moreover, the concept of collective accountability for terrorism that is widely supported by the vast majority of Palestinians and their leadership is entirely consistent with law and morality.