JERUSALEM — Thirty-five years ago, on June 5, 1967, the start of the Six Day War, Israel faced a threat to its very existence as a coalition of Arab armies massed their troops along the fragile armistice lines that had separated Arab and Israeli forces since 1949. Along the hills of the West Bank, which had been occupied by the Jordanians, armored and infantry units were deployed, ready to cut Israel's narrow coastal plain, which was only eight miles wide at Netanya. A third of the Iraqi army was crossing Jordanian territory, ready to join the coalition against Israel. The declared goal of the attack was Israel's elimination.

A few months after the 1967 war, Yitzhak Rabin remarked: "I do not think Nasser wanted war. The two divisions he sent to the Sinai on 14 May would not have been sufficient to launch an offensive against Israel. He knew it and we knew it" (Le Monde, 29 February 1968).

Israeli General Peled was even more frank: "To pretend that the Egyptian forces massed on our frontiers were in a position to threaten the existence of Israel constitutes an insult not only to the intelligence of anyone capable of analyzing this sort of situation, but above all an insult to the Zahal [Israeli army]" (Ha'aretz, 19 March 1972). Read more >>>

Israel entered the West Bank only after its cities and airports had come under heavy fire. Israeli actions were legal — resulting from a clear-cut war of self-defense. For that reason, the United Nations Security Council determined in a historic decision, Resolution 242, that Israel was entitled to "secure and recognized boundaries" and was not expected to withdraw from all the territories that its forces had entered — and from which it was attacked — in the Six Day War. In effect, the resolution established that these were disputed territories where Israel had legitimate rights to defensible borders, besides the claims of the Arab parties to the conflict.

It is instructive to remember that "... Sharon has always been against any sort of peace deal, unless on terms entirely impossible for Palestinians to accept. As Nehemia Strasler outlined in Ha'aretz on January 18 of this year, in 1979, as a member of Begin's cabinet, he voted against a peace treaty with Egypt. In 1985 he voted against the withdrawal of Israeli troops to the so-called security zone in Southern Lebanon. In 1991 he opposed Israel's participation in the Madrid peace conference. In 1993 he voted No in the Knesset on the Oslo agreement. The following year he abstained in the Knesset on a vote over a peace treaty with Jordan. He voted against the Hebron agreement in 1997 and objected to the way in which the withdrawal from southern Lebanon was conducted." Alexander Cockburn, "The Crimes of Ariel Sharon", Counterpunch, February 7th 2001

In 1972, the total settlement population in Gaza and West Bank was 1,500. Today it is over 210,000. In 1972, total settler population in East Jerusalem was 6,900. Today: 170,400. Between 1993 and 2000, the total settler population in the Occupied Territories doubled.. Read more >>>

According to the latest report from the Israeli human rights group Btselem, while settlements are built on 1.7% of West Bank land, Israel in fact has control of at least 41.9% of the land there. Read More>>>

"...we have no basis on which to conclude that there was a deliberate plan by the PA to initiate a campaign of violence at the first opportunity; or to conclude that there was a deliberate plan by the GOI to respond with lethal force." SHARM EL-SHEIKH FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE FINAL REPORT (The Mitchell Report) -- May 23, 2001

Here is what former President Jimmy Carter had to say about this: ""Ariel Sharon is a strong and forceful man and has never equivocated in his public declarations nor deviated from his ultimate purpose. His rejection of all peace agreements that included Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands, his invasion of Lebanon, his provocative visit to the Temple Mount, the destruction of villages and homes, the arrests of thousands of Palestinians and his open defiance of President George W. Bush's demand that he comply with international law have all been orchestrated to accomplish his ultimate goals: to establish Israeli settlements as widely as possible throughout occupied territories and to deny Palestinians a cohesive political existence." The New York Times, April 21, 2002.

"... the peace with Egypt engendered the expropriation of half the land in the West Bank and the establishment of dozens of new settlements; the conclusion of the evacuation of Sinai was the signal for the Lebanon War.... The Oslo process also exacted a heavy price by legitimizing the "settlement blocs" -- Meron Benvenisti (Ha'aretz 12/16/1999)

For the latest on settlement activity, see: http://www.fmep.org/reports/2002/v12n3.html#7

"the two sides declare that they have never been closer to reaching an agreement and it is thus our shared belief that the remaining gaps could be bridged with the resumption of negotiations following the Israeli elections." Joint Statement, signed by Ehud Barak's negotiating team, Taba, Egypt, January 27, 2001 -- Read More >>>

Finally, in order to reach a stable peace there has to be regional scope to diplomacy. In the Six Day War, Israel faced a coalition of Arab states. It is logical that Israel cannot reach a permanent peace with the Palestinians in isolation. Israel needs peace with the entire Arab world. For this reason, Israel has proposed a regional peace conference of like-minded Middle Eastern states that reject terrorism and seek to enhance regional stability. The idea of the conference is based on the principle that eradicating terrorism will set the stage for peacemaking, and not the reverse.

A little over a decade ago, the American victory in the Persian Gulf war established the necessary conditions for convening the Madrid peace conference. It was proved then that security is the prerequisite of peace. Similarly, a victory in the war on terrorism today will provide a new diplomatic basis for a stable Middle East peace.

Ariel Sharon is the prime minister of Israel.

[Arab Peace Initiative -- March 28, 2002 ] "[....] 3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following: a. Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region. b. Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace. 4. Assures the rejection of all forms of Palestinian patriation which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host countries. 5. Calls upon the government of Israel and all Israelis to accept this initiative in order to safeguard the prospects for peace and stop the further shedding of blood, enabling the Arab Countries and Israel to live in peace and good neighborliness and provide future generations with security, stability, and prosperity. 6. Invites the international community and all countries and organizations to support this initiative. 7. Requests the chairman of the summit to form a special committee composed of some of its concerned member states and the secretary general of the League of Arab States to pursue the necessary contacts to gain support for this initiative at all levels, particularly from the United Nations, the security council, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the Muslim States and the European Union."