After the stardust dispersed, it became clear that Joe Biden's trip to the Holy Land yielded nothing for us, except for the display of the US President's friendship, the importance of which should not be underestimated. Before the visit, we were promised a regional defense alliance and dramatic progress in "normalization" with Saudi Arabia, in exchange for a concession ours on security mechanisms from the agreement with Egypt. None of these materialized, except for the flight permit over Saudi Arabia, which was blown way out of proportion.
What did emerge is actually the opposite - announcements by senior Saudi officials and other Arab leaders at the Jeddah summit, according to which there will be no "normalization" without first surrendering to the Palestinians, withdrawing to the '67 lines and establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
So friends, if this is the condition for "normalization" - absolutely not, thank you.
The return to the mantra of the "vision of the two states", which was heard during the visit of the US president to the Middle East, brought back this dangerous discourse even to senior officials on the left side of the coalition, even to Yair Lapid. Once again we are promised a wonderful vision of "normalization", in exchange for the handing over of territories and homeland security elements in exchange for hummus in Riyadh.
A Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, photo: Michelle Dotcom
In the past we have already given pieces of homeland and security against false maxims of peace and normalization.
Not to mention those who tried to convince us to get off the Golan and resettle the Syrians in the Sea of Galilee for the sake of wiping humus in Damascus.
In the last year, even Meretz and the Labor ministers went up to the Golan Heights, committed to our grip there, and in fact beat the sin of stupidity of their predecessors in the past.
What would have happened if they had given the Golan to the Syrians, it is chilling to think.
But we gave the Egyptians, the Jordanians and the Palestinians parts of their homeland and dramatic security components, after they promised us the mother of normalization - peace.
We received such peace, that it is doubtful if there is a sane Israeli who would think of visiting the streets of Cairo or Rabat Ammon.
And what kind of normalization did we get in return for bringing the PLO into the heart of the country? Only terror and incitement. So much so that the State of Israel forbids jumping to eat hummus in Bethlehem - half an hour from my house, because it is a danger to lives.
In general, it is ridiculous to wave at us today about "normalization", after the series of lessons we learned in the last generation.
Today it is clear how all our self-weakening ends, when paradoxically precisely on the fronts where we did not give up anything, real normalization was achieved vis-à-vis Arab countries.
Normalization with Arab countries.
Avraham Agreements, photo: AFP
Thus, in recent years, substantial normalization between us and Saudi Arabia has grown stronger, without establishing formal diplomatic ties - without pretense of wiping out mutual hummus.
Not to mention the Abraham Accords and their significant strengthening in the past year, which took place without giving up a comma with the Palestinians.
And another absurdity - the relationship with Egypt has improved in recent years, in contrast to the situation that prevailed immediately when we gave them Sinai and uprooted the Maritime Land.
This happened precisely when we did not surrender to the Palestinians, when we strengthened ourselves security-wise, economically and technologically and became a very important regional player.
And yet, the rapprochement is between the regimes, while the Egyptian street remains dangerous and hostile.
Wipe hummus in Jeddah
And here, within the framework of our relationship with Saudi Arabia, it is impossible to wipe hummus in Jeddah, for those who actually long to spend time in such a clerical dictatorship, but the really important things take place.
In particular, there is security cooperation against the common enemies, of course Iran.
So much so, that it seems that the Americans needed our assistance in pushing the summit in Saudi Arabia, because of the good relations that Israel has in the Gulf.
And by the way, common interests, the connection with Saudi Arabia and the Gulfs was largely sucked from the American position until recently;
Fueled by the fact that Washington has lowered its profile in the Middle East, and of course due to its fateful courting of Iran, which sends the Saudis and other Arab countries into our arms - the strongest bully in the neighborhood.
The strongest thug in the neighborhood.
The leader of Saudi Arabia with Biden, photo: Reuters
Paradoxically, the good relationship between the countries exists when the regime does not have to justify itself to the majority of its public, when there is no formal normalization.
This is, for example, the main problem with the Jordanian regime, which leads a hostile and tyrannical policy towards us, defending itself against the majority of the public in the kingdom.
Please do not get confused, even if we could have accepted peace and normalization in exchange for the cradle of the nation and the heart of our national security, we should have rejected them with both hands.
But reality shows that we will always receive reinforcements and courtships, if you want "normalization", only when we become stronger.
If we do not agree to weaken ourselves, and certainly not to commit suicide within the framework of what is known as the two-state vision.
Who is really breaking the law?
There is no greater evil and insolence than to call the innocent protest of the "Nachla" organization, which is rebelling against the stranglehold of settlements in Yosh, a violation of the law. Minister Amr Bar-Lev, who is in charge of law enforcement, went out of his way to insult and insult the young people who set up tents on several hills Rikuto in Yosh, and claimed that the protest harms the "routine security tasks".
Words in a similar vein were also said by Defense Minister Benny Gantz - a friend of the Palestinian Authority.
The truth is that the fundamental violation of the law has been carried out for years by the state's captains, and as part of it basic rights are denied to Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, who have become second-class citizens.
Barlev and Gantz should not have harsh words against those who shut down ports in order to extort money from taxpayers, or block intersections and paralyze the economy in an obviously illegal manner.
Their poisoned arsenal is reserved only against those who try to ease the discrimination imposed by the governments of Israel in the last generation, including those of Netanyahu, specifically against Yosh Jews.
The moratorium continues at the same time as the systematic and deliberate violation of Palestinian law, which takes over the Israeli-ruled areas in the West Bank in order to suffocate the Jewish settlements and the ways of access to them. Violation of the law On the contrary, Benny Gantz is doing everything to strengthen the one who leads the illegal seizure of state territories, alongside criminal and defiant construction - the Palestinian Authority.
"evil and insolence".
Bar-Lev, Bennett and Gantz, photo: Amos Ben Gershom/L.A.M
It is important to understand that the communities of Judea and Samaria have been suffering for years, even under the "Leader of the Right" Binyamin Netanyahu, from insurmountable barriers in their development.
They are prevented from building even in the municipal areas of the councils without a system of political approvals, headed by the Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister.
The purchase of land also requires a "transaction permit", which is given for political reasons by the Minister of Defense and is used as a tool to prevent settlement development.
And the ministers, for the most part, prevent the development of the settlements on purpose.
The idea of deploying the outposts and jumping from hill to hill upon the arrival of the army and the police is an old idea that has been used many times, for 50 years.
This is a super-legitimate demonstration, protesting against discriminatory and unfair rules of the game, against the denial of basic rights of citizens for political reasons.
The one who is leading the current protest is veteran Daniela Weiss, who has retained her youthful vigor.
It is not clear how much air there will be for the young people who raided the hills this week, but they should be applauded, certainly not condemned.
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