Israel must end settlements

Cal Thomas' Sep. 9 article titled "Israel continues to give but still hasn't received" is an accomplishment in myth production.

The U.S. is the only nation that has Israel's interests as national interests. As such, when the United States tells Israel to halt its illegal construction of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, it's for its own good.

Continued Israeli expansion into lands it does not own encourages reprimand from the international community and threatens Israel's existence as a Jewish state. If Israel continues to settle in the Palestinian Territories, it will ruin options for a two-state solution. If Israel wants to claim these territories for itself, it will have to include them along with their native inhabitants, making Israel an Arab majority state.

Israel would no longer be a Jewish state. Ben-Gurion would turn in his grave.

Thomas alleges that Israel has made numerous concessions but has received nothing for them. What concessions? Netanyahu just brushed off Obama and approved the construction of 1,000 new homes and apartments in Arab East Jerusalem, along with the completion of over 2,000 homes already under construction in West Bank Settlements.

Israel needs to give in order for there to be peace in the Middle East. The Gaza war included, Israel has started six out of the seven wars that have ravaged the region.

The two-state solution is Israel's best shot at remaining a Jewish state. By asking Israel to end its illegal occupation and settlement building, the goal is not, "To overwhelm the Jewish population and eventually eliminate all Jews from the land" as Thomas claims. It is to ensure that Israel is not in effect endangering itself as well as the Palestinians. It thus has to be the first step on the path to peace.

Ben Gaster

Barrington