A reminder why we need to look after ourselves

Proponents of the "Two State Solution" often poo-poo Israel's security concerns claiming that once we have peace, security won't be an issue (after all, we have "Peace"), and in any case, we could have a UN controlled peace-keeping force keeping the peace, in the unlikely event that anything would go wrong.

Given the instability of all the states surrounding Israel (with the possible exception of Jordan), the first argument is silly - just because we signed a Peace Pact with the current Palestinian Administration, there is no guarantee that they would keep it, and it is unlikely that they would stay in power (see Gaza where Hamas ousted the Palestinian Authority within months of Israeli disengagement).

Ah-ha - peace proponents say, that's why would get security guarantees from a third party like the UN or the US. These proponents have obviously never  heard of the 1956, 1967, or 1973 wars when UN peace keepers left as soon as there was a serious threat of war.
"But surely that is ancient history" I hear you say; things have changed now ... except that today Austria announced that they are removing their peacekeepers from the Golan Heights - after all, it could get dangerous there. I guess relying on peace keepers in the region only makes sense if we knew that there would never be the threat of was (in which case, why do we need the peace keepers?).


Bottom line is, if we ever sign a peace agreement, it must include the ability for Israel to defend itself without relying on the partner signing the agreement or a third party.

Am I against the concept of a Palestinian State? Not at all, the concept sounds like a fair just solution. I'm against the reality of a Palestinian State.
Right now, I cannot conceive of an independent Palestinian State that would not lead to missiles being fired at my home.

My vision of peace does not include missiles being fired at me and my children. If not wanting missiles fired at my home makes me ant-peace, so be it.
If someone can suggest a Peace Plan that would not lead to missiles being fired at my home (or the homes of other Israelis), I'm in favour. I just haven't heard of such a proposal yet.

And if you're wondering what I think we should be doing to encourage peace, I am a big believer in interaction between Jews and Arabs; the more that we interact with each other on a personal level, the more likely that our children will be able to live together in harmony. (I wrote about it a few years ago).
The concept of a Palestinian State is exactly the opposite - it discourages personal interaction between Israelis and Palestinians, in fact it often makes it illegal (it is currently against the law for Israelis to enter many Palestinian territories).

Given that right now, there is no serious realistic peace plan on the table, and no serious partner on the other side, I guess Secretary of State Kerry got it right -

People in Israel aren’t waking up every day and wondering if tomorrow there will be peace because there is a sense of security and a sense of accomplishment and of prosperity.”

Makes good sense to me. Lets hope that our sense of security, accomplishment, and prosperity continue to increase - and people pushing for a diplomatic process that directly puts my life in danger will continue to be ignored.