The West Bank Belongs to Israel: By Michael Sachs

The following letter was written by Michael Sachs to the Naples Daily News in response to an article written by an An Arab residing in Judea making claim to the West bank of the Jordan River as occupied territory.

Editor, Daily News
I am writing you in response to the letter written by Mohammad Alsaafin from Ramallah. It is admirable that you come to the defense of your "Cousin" but the only problem is that your defense and your "Cousin" both are wrong. When looking at the issue with the West Bank (and Gaza up until 2006) we all must understand how Israel gained control of these areas. These areas came under Israeli control during the 6 Day War of 1967, a war that Israel tried desperately to avoid but succeeded in winning. These lands never belonged to the Palestinian Arabs, they belonged to Jordan (West Bank) and Egypt (Gaza) and if returned under any future agreement, should be returned to those countries. When you have both of those countries initiate a war to wipe another country off the map and lose... is it acceptable to reward those countries with land back? If, Israel had lost that war, would the world demand that Jordan and Egypt return the land in which they gained? The answer is no to both questions, but the heart of this problem is Palestinian Arab propaganda machine. Now it has become acceptable for the Palestinian Arabs to call for a Palestinian State based on the 1967 borders (which would include E. Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank), my question to them is, "What was wrong in 1966?" Why did you advocate war to your proxies (Egypt and Jordan)? You complain about raid's on your colleges and travel restrictions when you head to school. Look deeper and ask yourself why anyone would waste the time and money to conduct such actions at the risk of death to their own people? The answer is to protect their citizens. The amount of terror from the West Bank, in particular, has decreased based on the actions taken by Israel in self defense. The travel restrictions are lifted by 20-30% per year based on the level of terrorist activity from or in the West Bank. The historical presence of Jews in the land of Israel is not even questionable and his rhetorical question of "Does Israel have the right to occupy those countries too?" is humorous at best. If those countries attempt to attack Israel (a sovereign nation) and lose, the answer is yes. When the Palestinian Arabs stop trying to say that Israel is to blame for all of their shot comings and look to themselves to improve their own lives and society.... that is when they will achieve independence. When the recognize Israel's right to exist as a sovereign Jewish State.... that is when they will achieve independence. When they chose to be winners in life instead of martyrs in death.... that is when they will achieve independence. When they stop saying "they are the problem" and say "We have an answer" (not terrorism).... that is when they will achieve independence. It is up to them, we do not need to reward them with anything.
Michael Sachs