Meron Rapoport writes:

On 15 June 1967, five days after the end of the Middle East war, the Israeli cabinet met for the second time since the ceasefire was announced.

Menachem Begin, the historical leader of the nationalistic Herut party – which would later become Likud – had joined the government only a few days before the war, having previously been treated as a pariah by the successive Zionist “social democrat” ruling parties in the first 19 years of Israel’s existence.

Begin was enthusiastic about Israel’s territorial gains during the war, as it was now occupying the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. He was adamant about maintaining Israeli control over lands west of the Jordan River.

“Regarding Western Eretz Israel (the land of Israel), we should not give back one millimetre,” he said.

As for the “Arabs” – referring to Palestinians – living in these areas, Begin had a suggestion. For the first seven years they would be “residents, not citizens”, and after this period of time, “we could humanely ask each one of them if he wishes to be a loyal citizen or to go to another country. Supposing that the majority would stay, that should not frighten us”.

Fifty-three years later, this plan never came to pass, as millions of Palestinians continue to live under the rule of a military occupation.

But the impending annexation of parts of the West Bank on 1 July has disrupted the status quo and become a catalyst for debate in the Israeli political class that would have been unthinkable even a few months ago: whether Israel is an apartheid state. [Continue reading…]