Point of No Return

Two facts converge to make a two-State solution almost impossible - as an op-ed piece on ynet.news.com [an Israeli web site] compellingly argues:

First, "Half a million people. Half a million Jewish Israelis are living beyond the Green Line, the Israel-Jordan border prior to1967. A total of 200,000 reside in areas defined by Israel as part of the greater Jerusalem and annexed. Another 300,000 live in the rest of Judea and Samaria (or the West Bank.)"

Second, "The evacuation of 8,000 Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and their absorption in Israel cost taxpayers NIS 10 billion. Those interested in turning back time and evacuating Israelis from the areas beyond the 1967 borders would have to invest NIS 600 billion for that end. An unreal figure." NIL 600 billion equates to a staggeringly approximate US$140 billion.

Conclusion? - according to ynet.news.com:

"Half a million Jews beyond the Green Line constitute the point of no return. The talk about a “construction freeze” or “construction suspicion” at certain settlements are a joke and an insurance policy for the leaders – in Israel, in Palestine, and in the world – who know deep in their hearts that the decision had been made.

What we have here is two peoples that cannot be divided: A mixture of Jews and Palestinians that cannot be separated. It’s too late."

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