“Either us or the Zionists! There is no room for both.”

After a century of Palestinian rejectionism, nothing has changed.

In 1921, the Palestine Arab Executive Committee stated: “Either us or the Zionists! There is no room for both.”

Palestinians have constantly rejected a two-state solution whenever it has meant that one of the two states will be Jewish.

For the Palestinians, the only matter of importance is that there simply should never be a Jewish state in their midst. Of any size.

To be clear, denying a Jewish state is their highest priority.

That is why there was mass celebration and rejoicing in Gaza and Judea/Samaria/West Bank on October 7 and the days following.

The so-called ‘peaceful’ marches around the world calling for death and also celebrating October 7, not only fail to support any two-state solution, but they also openly oppose it.

So why do Western countries insist on rewarding terror and hostage taking by promoting a Palestinian state?

One reason is that for many governments, this is not a foreign policy matter, but a domestic one.

These governments, however, fail to understand that this will only work for them to a point. Until they themselves are turned on. In the eyes of their target audience, nothing less than Israel’s removal will suffice.

Another is that either deliberately or out of ignorance, or naivete, or a combination of all three, they refuse to understand or accept that what Palestinians mean is an Arab state next to an Arab state, not a Jewish one.

Israelis understand this very well; they have literally been mugged by experience.

If Western leaders and the press can largely call the marches displaying portraits of the Ayatollah and Hamas flags ‘peaceful,’ they can convince themselves of anything.

Even if they are promoting the two-state solution, they are supporting a Jewish state next to an Arab one.

The difference is how the Palestinians see a future state that may be called Israel, but one that will not be a state with a Jewish majority.

In late July last month, the Arab League, the European Union and seventeen other countries signed the ‘New York Declaration’ at a United Nations conference.

There are a number of major problems with this Declaration, which in the main, was supposed to be about reviving the two-state solution.

One is that with its timing and focus, it is seen by Hamas as a reward for October 7.

The Macron-led push has emboldened Hamas, delayed the negotiations between Israel and Hamas, and further endangered the hostages.

Any humanitarian issues that exist in Gaza are the fault of Hamas, not Israel.

The only people being systematically and deliberately starved in Gaza are the Israeli hostages.

Another issue is that whatever conditions are being placed on the Palestinian leadership and hollow vague musings about Israel’s security, insofar as the Declaration includes them at all, should actually come, in a normal world, before the establishment of a Palestinian state itself.

One hundred years of history, says the reforms will never take place, once a Palestinian state would already have been established.

This is very much the proverbial cart before the horse.

And only Israel will be left to face the consequences, as you can be sure that the signatories to the New York Declaration will find any reason to melt into impotence, immediately thereafter.

A flashing red light is not only that the Declaration does not even purport to support the concept of a Jewish state, but it actively undermines one.

Article 14 of the New York Declaration includes: “Upon reaching a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194, UNRWA will transfer its public services in the Palestinian territories to empowered and equipped Palestinian institutions.”

Now, we need to remind ourselves that UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which was adopted by the United Nations in 1949, states that: “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date. Compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property.”

This is what the Palestinians term their ‘right of return.’

Potentially millions of Palestinians are flooding into Israel.

Quite simply, the end of the Jewish state.

As a prequel to then Prime Minister Sharon taking Israel completely out of Gaza in 2005, there was an exchange of letters between Sharon and President Bush.

Both Sharon and Bush understood that the Palestinians interpreted the question of two states very differently from Israel and the US.

In the letter dated April 14, 2004, Bush wrote: “The United States is strongly committed to Israel’s security and well-being as a Jewish state.”

This description and recognition by Bush of Israel as a Jewish state were critical to the whole Disengagement.

Bush understood that.

If Prime Minister Albanese, or any other leader, is serious about solving anything in the Middle East, they could do no better than formally recognise Israel as a Jewish state and to ensure that the Palestinians undergo all of the reforms noted as desirable in the New York Declaration, BEFORE they are rewarded for the terror unleashed on Israel, on October 7.