Comment & Debate
Defensible Borders for a Lasing Peace: “The determination of defensible borders must be based on an assessment that takes into account potential long-term strategic threats as well. In this context, the following questions need to be considered: Is there any way to guarantee that Iraq will not evolve into a radical Shi’ite state that is dependent on Iran and hostile to Israel (differences between Iraqi and Iranian Shi’ites notwithstanding)? Indeed, King Abdullah of Jordan has warned of a hostile Shi’ite axis that could include Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Is it not conceivable that a Palestinian state will arise in the West Bank that will ultimately take over Jordan? It is worth recalling that just as Iraq has a Shi’ite majority, Jordan already has a Palestinian majority. Can Israel defend itself if it is attacked by a Palestinian state that stretches from Iraq to Kalkilya? Is it not possible that in the future, militant Islamic elements will succeed in gaining control of the Egyptian regime?
Given its narrow geographical dimensions, a future attack launched from the 1949 armistice lines against Israel’s nine-mile-wide waist could easily split the country in two.
Terrorism has also been added to Israel’s concerns, in addition to the threat of a conventional military attack. From a strategic-military perspective, then, the right to defensible borders means that Israel must retain a safety zone in order to contend with a range of threats in the future, even if it reaches political agreements with it neighbors. If aggression is ever resumed, Israel requires a clear ability to defend itself, by itself, based on an appropriate location of its borders with its neighbors.”