Why a Palestinian State Must Not Be Created

What has occurred in the Gaza Strip over the last 20 years is actually a textbook example of why a Palestinian state must never be created. To understand this, we need to look back to recent history.

The USA’s role as mediator

After the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Israel was growing increasingly dependent on the United States (although Israel doesn’t like to hear it). The US mediated the peace agreement with Egypt in 1979, and the later 1994 peace agreement with Jordan. Both of these are still in effect today, despite Israel’s initial skepticism. These agreements have actually become extremely important for Israel, because they have made its borders with Egypt and Jordan calm and reasonably safe. Cooperation with the two neighboring countries could even be described as good; and, most of all, very important when we consider the threat posed by Iran, with its extreme Shiite Islamic ideology.

The US mediated the so-called “peace process” with the Palestinians under Clinton, Rabin, and Arafat. The negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians primarily took place in Oslo, which is how the “Oslo Accords” came about.

The Oslo Accords

The Oslo Accords stipulated that the Palestinian leadership under Arafat, would be permitted to return to Ramallah on the West Bank from Tunis. The Palestinians would set up a civil administration and a police force capable of maintaining law and order. This entire process would take place in stages, allowing the Palestinians to prove their capability in maintaining law and order. At the end of this process, a Palestinian state would be created. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. Instead, in 1988, and then again in 2000, the First and Second Intifadas (uprisings) broke out, each lasting about five years. During these periods, the Palestinians carried out dozens of terrorist attacks in Israel, which claimed several hundred lives all told.

Despite these negative experiences, Israel was willing to clear the Gaza Strip of Jewish settlements, because the Palestinians always claimed that they were an obstacle to peace.

The Gaza Strip as a textbook example

What happened in Gaza is proof that a Palestinian autonomous administration will inevitably fall into the hands of fanatical Islamists like Hamas, whose only goal is to destroy the Jewish State. Instead of demonstrating its peaceful intentions by developing the Gaza Strip into the Singapore of the Middle East, Hamas has used billions of dollars in subsidies to turn the Gaza Strip into an underground fortress, which it apparently believed was impregnable. What happened in the Gaza Strip should therefore be sufficient proof that allowing a Palestinian state would be suicide for Israel.

The Islamist ideology

The Islamic Revolution, which led to Khomeini overthrowing Iran’s leadership in 1979, made Iran and the Shiites into Israel’s bitterest enemies. According to their ideology, the Jewish State has no right to exist, because the country and Jerusalem were once under Muslim rule from 638 to 1917 (with an interruption of about 90 years during the Crusader period). But Jerusalem had only been a pilgrimage destination for Muslims for around a hundred years. The Caliph, whose seat was in Damascus, no longer wanted people to make pilgrimages to Mecca. In order to justify Jerusalem as an alternative pilgrimage site, legends arose in Islam claiming that Mohammed had been in Jerusalem. Two mosques were built on the Temple Mount—where the Jewish Temple had once stood—to commemorate these stories.

Khomeini designated the last Friday in Ramadan as “al-Quds Day”; that is, Jerusalem Day. It became a tool of propaganda across the Islamic world, promoting the reconquest of Jerusalem—the third holiest city for Muslims after Mecca and Medina, despite never being mentioned in the Koran.

It’s fortunate for Israel that the Iranian brand of radical Shiite Islam not only threatens them, but also a large portion of the other Islamic countries (which are Sunni rather than Shiite). Notably, these are the rich Gulf states. Especially affluent Saudi Arabia is in the process of concluding joint defense agreements with Israel against Iran, due to the threat.

Where does the rest of the world stand in this conflict?

What’s truly unbelievable is, despite these facts, there are still countries that believe that establishing a Palestinian state would bring peace to the Middle East. Opinions are divided on recognizing a Palestinian state. The US has previously held the view that a Two-State Solution is key to solving the conflict, but seems to be rethinking that stance after what happened in Gaza.

Worldwide protests, especially on university campuses, have shown the success of Islamic propaganda in presenting the aggressors as the true victims. Israel has a lot of educating to do, as does the Bible-believing Christian world. We’re called to stand up for the truth and expose the lies of radical Islam.

Gaza as a model for an agreement with the Palestinians

The question remains: What should happen to Gaza [now that] the war is over? This question is especially relevant in Israel, and there is no consensus.

Past experience has shown that the UN can’t be relied upon, nor can any other international organization or military force. Therefore, Israel will probably have to militarily administer the Gaza Strip itself for the time being, until the Palestinians establish a trustworthy civilian administration. But even then, Israel must control the borders.

The question arises: Where and how did the almost unbelievable quantity of weapons get into Gaza? As it turns out, they were smuggled from Egypt through roughly 50 tunnels under the border. All parties involved seemed to make out with a good deal in the process.

It’s clear that a Palestinian state with sovereign borders must never be allowed to form. Israel has an interest in a certain degree of autonomous Palestinian self-government, but the borders must remain under Israeli control to prevent the smuggling of weaponry.

This naturally also applies to the so-called West Bank, which has a long border with Jordan. It must remain under Israeli control. This is the only way to ensure that something as terrible as the events of October 7, 2023 never happens again.

How will it all end?

One can only pray that the world’s anti-Israel sentiment can be stemmed by reason and confrontation with the facts. But for those who know the Bible (and especially biblical prophecy), it’s clear that the anti-Israel ideology that stems from radical Islam is going to erupt at some point. This is described in Scripture in the prophet Zechariah, chapters 12–14, among other places. What’s comforting is that Zechariah 14:3 tells us, “Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.”