Sinai Option – The Road
to Permanent Peace!
by Steven
Shamrak.
Only 120 years ago, most parts of the
Middle East, including Palestine and entire Sinai Peninsula, were a desolated,
arid, land mass which did not belong to any country. It was a no man’s land
with which for 2000 years Jews had an unbroken spiritual and historical bond!
The creation of a Mandate system after
the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the World War 1 and the grid of the new
masters, Britain and France, laid the foundations of the current Arab-Israel
conflict:
Trans-Jordan was the part of the
Palestinian mandate, which was allocated for creation of a Jewish state by the
League of Nations in 1922, in accordance with the Balfour Declaration.
Therefore, its separation from Palestinian mandated land was an illegal act.
Unfortunately, the dominant imperial powers, Britain and France, controlled the
League of Nations which they used to rubber stamp their shady deals at the
time.
As a result of the deal, in 1922, in
order to secure Britain's financial interests in the Suez Canal, Sinai was
illegally given to Egypt by the British with the permission of King Hussein of
Hejaz and Nejd, now Saudi Arabia. In return, Britain transferred control of the
land east of the river Jordan to Hussein's son, Abdullah. Control of the Golan
Heights were transferred to the French-run Syrian Mandate in exchange the
United Kingdom got control of newly discovered oil fields in Kirkuk.
Since its independence, Israel has fought
many wars with its implacable Arab neighbours, signed numerous cease-fires,
so-called Hundas and even peace agreements. But all those efforts have not
brought about any permanent solution to the endless terror Israeli society has
been enduring daily.
The solution that can bring permanent
peace to Israel and let Arabs live with dignity in their own country was
proposed over 100 years ago. It has been deliberately ignored and disallowed by
the United Nations.
It is the Sinai option – the transfer of all of the Arab
population from the land that used to be called the “Palestinian mandate” to
the Sinai Peninsula, an area of contiguous land which is comparable by size
with the entire Palestinian mandate: Israel, Gaza, Judea, Samaria, Golan
Heights and Jordan! This plan presents the real opportunity for a permanent
peace:
1. It will separate
the two entirely incompatible communities and will create an environment
conducive to the development of a new Arab entity totally independent from
Israel.
2. It will provide
Arabs with a contiguous landmass. Isn’t that what the PA is demanding?
3. It will give
Arabs full territorial, financial, military, political and religious control
over the land, natural resources and population. There will be no dependency on
Israel!
4. The new entity
will be accountable for its actions in accordance with international law.
5. Israel will be
able to securely control its border with the new Arab entity and keep it
accountable for any terror activity.
6. All anti-Israel
terror-inclined elements will be removed from the Jewish lands.
And, this plan is relatively easy to implement
because:
1. The new entity
can be either part of Egypt or become another independent Arab state.
2. There are only
around 250,000 people living in Sinai today, predominantly Bedouins.
3. The SINAI OPTION
will resolve the so-called Palestinians refugee question as they can easily be
settled in the Sinai. Note: Over 70% of Jordan’s population are so-called
Palestinians others are decedents of the refuges from Saudi Arabia.
4. Every year the
International community has been wasting/spending billions of dollars merely on
conflict maintenance in the region. The SINAI OPTION offers the opportunity for
investment in the permanent resolution of the conflict and it will free up
billions of dollars that can be used to alleviate the suffering of people the
world over.
5. Population
transfers were successfully implemented before and after the adoption of the
fourth Geneva Convention resolution. In fact, Israel is the only country this
resolution targeted in order to prevent the transfer of the Arab population
from Israel after the war of Independence!
6. It will create
investment opportunities and would be of great benefit to Egypt, as well a
financial bonanza for the Arabs who are currently living in Judea-Samaria, Gaza
and Jordan.
7. It will improve
the lifestyle and living conditions of millions of Arabs and will bring peace,
stability and prosperity to Jews in Israel.
8. The plan can be
implemented humanely and gradually under supervision of the International
community or it can be implemented by force, unilaterally by Israel, when the
Arab enemies of the Jewish state start the next war or perpetrate the hideous
act of terror against the Israeli population. Israel must be ready to implement
the SINAI OPTION at any time!
This is the only way toward permanent
peace in the region and fulfillment of the 2000 year old commandment and
inspiration of Jewish people – the return to the G-d given land of our
ancestors!
The International community, Arab and
Muslim countries insist that they want peace in the Middle East! Therefore, why
don’t they even want to hear about this alternative plan? And the fact that
during the breakout through the Sinai border with Egypt, instigated and planned
in advance by Hamas, half of Gaza’s population were able to cross the border
during the first two days is a proof that the Sinai Option easy to implement
and the practical way to start the process of ending Arab occupation of Jewish
land and establishing true and permanent peace in Israel, free of Arab terror.