The world reacts curiously to events in Israel, especially when they have the ability to influence the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
When Israel announces a new policy as it pertains to Jews purchasing land in historically Jewish Judea and Samaria (the region most of the world calls the West Bank), voices decry Israeli programs that can ignite the region in violence. Similarly, when Palestinians commit terror attacks against innocent Israelis, there are immediate calls for calm to ensure there are no violent flare-ups in the region.
These strange responses ignore Palestinian agency over their own violent choices and place the blame on Israel for Palestinian terrorism. Since Palestinians have traditionally chosen violence and terrorism over peace, the world should be looking inward and asking if 100 years of not holding Palestinians accountable for their own terrible choices has been the true provocation of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
When discussing Jewish development in Judea and Samaria, there are two problematic responses. One is advocated by those who demand further building, since, “Settlements are the best Israeli response to Palestinian terrorism because they exact an actual price from the Palestinians for their recalcitrance.”
A second problematic response, as stated this week by the Democratic Majority for Israel, says that, “The Israeli security cabinet’s approval of measures that would increase Israeli control over parts of the West Bank…could risk further escalating tensions at a delicate time.”
It must be stated clearly: Jews do not inspire, motivate, or cause Palestinians to be violent; Palestinian violence arises from their own aggressive choices and unyielding aspirations for a terror state. Jewish building in our historic homeland is a rightful act that deters terror through strength and demoralization, paving the way for true peace.
In the decades leading up to the failed Oslo Accords, and in the short time following them before they literally blew up, the shortsighted thought process was that approving measures for increased Israeli control in Judea and Samaria pushes Israelis and Palestinians further apart, escalates tensions, and complicates regional integration. This as an outdated 1990s mindset that wrongly attributes Palestinian violence to Jewish presence rather than inherently violent Palestinian ideologies and hate towards Jews.
Other than erroneous theories, there is no empirical evidence that links Jewish construction to spikes in terrorism.
Palestinian violence against Jews persists regardless of settlements
This evidence doesn’t exist because Palestinian violence against Jews persists regardless of building development or freezes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s mistaken building and settlements freeze yielded no peace. Even the Oslo Peace Accords, the closest Israel and the Palestinians came to ending the conflict, brought Palestinian terrorism. Blaming Jews for Palestinian actions infantilizes Palestinians, denying their agency and excusing terrorism.
The narratives claiming that Jewish development in Judea and Samaria brings violence, or should grow as a response to Palestinian terrorism, are both incorrect. Jewish building should proceed because it is an inherent Jewish right in our ancestral homeland, not contingent on Palestinian behavior. It is the only just policy the world should advocate in Judea and Samaria.
Jewish building increases infrastructure, benefiting all residents, including Palestinians. Since taking over Judea and Samaria in 1967, Israel has built roads, utilities, and economic opportunities that foster stability rather than conflict. Jewish building in these disputed regions reaffirms Jews’ historical claim to Judea and Samaria, strengthening Israel’s position and preventing the area from becoming a launchpad for attacks.
In addition, Jewish expansion in the region hampers Palestinian terror by undermining their aspirations for territorial integrity and a unified state dedicated to destroying the Jewish State of Israel. Building more Jewish towns, homes, and community centers demoralizes Palestinian extremists and deters violence by showing that aggression yields losses, not gains.
There have been over a thousand unnecessary Palestinian deaths since October 2023. These deaths are consequences of Palestinian aggression, including initiating terror attacks against innocent Israelis, using human shields, and pointlessly clashing with security forces. It is Palestinian violence that causes Palestinian deaths, not unprovoked Israeli actions.
In contrast to Israeli restraint and defensive measures, Palestinians choose confrontation over coexistence. Blaming Jews ignores the root causes of violence and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, like incitement in Palestinian education and media. Israel has held out its hand in peace for over 100 years. Unfortunately, it is continuously met by Palestinian fists.
Since the failure of the Oslo Accords and the peace process, it has been made clear that peace won’t emerge from conceding to Palestinian demands for a “terror state,” which would reward violence and endanger Israel. It is now clear that peace will only come to this region when Israelis fully incorporate Judea and Samaria into Israel. The Jewish state should annex the region as a right and as a demonstration of strength, deterring further aggression and integrating it under stable governance.
All Zionists should support Jewish expansion and annexation of Judea and Samaria as moral and practical imperatives. True peace will only be achieved through Jewish resolve, not concessions. The unapologetic Jewish resolve to further Zionist goals of development of the Jewish homeland will inspire a shift in global discourse.
In summary, it must be unequivocally stated and restated that Jews are not the instigators, motivators, or causes of Palestinian violence. The tragic cycle of violence and terrorism stems entirely from Palestinians’ own deliberate choices to embrace aggression over coexistence. All Zionists must rally behind Jewish expansion and the full annexation of Judea and Samaria, recognizing these as both moral imperatives rooted in our ancient rights and practical necessities for security and deterrence.
True peace will not arise from futile concessions that reward terror but through unwavering Jewish resolve, which demoralizes extremists and fosters stability. By championing this path, we can inspire a profound shift in global discourse, finally holding Palestinians accountable and paving the way for a just resolution.
The writer is a certified interfaith hospice chaplain in Jerusalem and the mayor of Mitzpe Yeriho.