The basic problem is that annexing the West Bank and Gaza as implied in Netanyahu’s map would mean a roughly 50/50 split between Jews and non-Jewish Arabs within the borders of Israel. The Arab population is growing rapidly so the long-term demographics would even worse for an expanded Jewish state.
How can Israel be a democratic, Jewish state when at least half of the population is non-Jewish Arabs?
Is Netanyahu’s platform really “from the river to the sea, Israel will be Palestinian-free”?
Or does it inherently imply some form of two-tiered citizenship such as found in the Jim Crow South or South Africa under apartheid?
Netanyahu’s policy is based on core principles that go back many decades. If you doubt that, consider this excerpt from the 1973 platform of Netanyahu’s Likud Party:
The right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is eternal and indisputable and is linked with the right to security and peace; therefore, Judea and Samaria will not be handed to any foreign administration; between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.
A plan which relinquishes parts of western Eretz Israel, undermines our right to the country, unavoidably leads to the establishment of a “Palestinian State,” jeopardizes the security of the Jewish population, endangers the existence of the State of Israel, and frustrates any prospect of peace.
Original Party Platform of the Likud Party
