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It is now the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War (according to the Gregorian calender). You will see many people saying things like: "If only Israel didn't attack...if only Israel would just return to the 1967 borders...if only Israel would just give up the West Bank like they did Gaza, then everything would be fine. It is all Israel's fault for being obstinate and stubborn, for failing to leave the West Bank". You will read this in the Arab press, from left-wing Israeli historians, and many more.
When you hear these statements, ignore them. They deny reality and pretend that possession of the West Bank is the only thing of importance to the Arabs in Gaza and the West Bank (who are currently firing rockets at Israeli cities non-stop in efforts to terrorize, injure and kill Israeli civilians).
Check out this survey from Near East Consulting. It asks one question of "Palestinians" living in Gaza and in the West Bank: "Would your opinion about Israel's right to exist change if there was a two-state solution whereby Palestine is on the land occupied in 1967?". If ownership and possession of the West Bank were the main issue, if a two-state solution would be the answer, then we would expect that the overwhelming majority of respondents would answer "yes, if we returned to the 1967 borders and had our own state, our opinion of Israel's right to exist would change, and we would be happy to live side-by-side with the Jewish state, in peace". That is what you would expect to hear.
What was the response? 36% said that their opinion of Israel's right to exist would change. 64% said that it would not (and interestingly enough, the yes-vote was proportionately higher in Gaza than it was in the West Bank).
Remember, the Palestine Liberation Organization committed its first act of terrorism in 1964, before the sacred concept of "the 1967 borders" ever existed. It was founded with the mission of destroying the Zionist entity, and this mission has never changed. They share this goal (though differ in how it should be accomplished) with their brothers in Islamic Jihad, Hizballah, Hamas, Syria and Iran. Do not delude yourself into thinking that Israel would be safer, more secure or better off by "reverting to the 1967 borders". Just the opposite is true.
(Ref: Israel Matzav)
