Ya’alon emphasized that “The two-state solution has failed and to my mind is now irrelevant. In Israel we must consolidate our Jewish Zionist narrative. Without believing in our case, there is no way to convince someone else. Even before the Hamas victory, a two-state solution was a mistaken fantasy – now it’s even more irrelevant. The Palestinians knew exactly who Hamas was when they voted for them.”
Ya’alon also pointedly stated, “If we couldn’t tame and change Arafat, we can’t tame and change Hamas. [But] if we’re in Judea and Samaria we can thwart the terrorism from there.” It is for this reason that Ya’alon describes Israeli leaders who call for more unilateral concessions “confused” and offering the Israeli public “illusions.”
Ya’alon concluded by saying, “We don’t need Chamberlains, we need Churchills” who offer realism and optimism, warning of “blood, toil, tears and sweat” but also the prospect of ultimate victory.
Ya’alon urged Israel and the West to cease preferring “to be confused” and to instead adopt the “moral clarity” to see that the “from the dawn of Zionism until this day, the source of all terrorist attacks has been the refusal of the Arab world to recognize Israel’s existence. Until this changes we will remain the target of violent terrorist activity. The ’67 borders are neither a solution to rocket attacks, suicide bombs nor to more conventional forms of warfare . Iran sees us withdrawing from Gaza, Hamas is elected, they see U.S. trouble in Iraq and because they do not pay price for financing, supporting and encouraging terrorism, they continue . As long as they see our appeasement policy, they will continue.”
Israel is proposing to give away 95 percent of Judea and Samaria and declare borders. The U.S. has already said it will not accept these borders unless the PA does, and the PA says it won’t. Therefore, if Israel goes through with this huge withdrawal, it will have given away all the leverage it must maintain to resolve issues such as Jerusalem, refugees, demilitarization, etc. – and will find itself having nothing left to offer.