“When we have to protect ourselves from by means of action, on behalf of what morality will anyone be able to complain to us if we watch out for ourselves and are less and less heedful of treading on the human dignity of your lives, which you yourselves have been obliteration for so long?” — Amnon Dankner, editor in chief of Maariv, an Israeli newspaper.

Any observer of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has by now given up hope for any sort of peaceful agreement. Roadmap or not, the bloodshed continues daily. As an ardent follower of the region, the loss of lives frustrates me daily on an academic, intellectual and personal level.

This failure has nothing to do with a lack of plans. It has to do with a lack of being realistic. Nobody wants to face the cold hard truths that would allow peace to prevail. The right realizations coupled with a unilateral move by the Israelis would allow for a comprehensive peace. It’s time everyone face the music.

First of all, the Israelis need to realize that the Palestinians need to have a state for two very important reasons: if any group of people should sympathize with not having a homeland (although Jordan could be considered a Palestinian homeland), it is the Jews. It would be hypocritical of the Israelis to deny that which they have fought and bled for to another group of people.

Second, and more importantly, for any prayer of peace, the Palestinians need a homeland. Accordingly, this means the settlements need to go, or if the Israelis do not want to force the settlers to leave, they need simply to withdraw any sort of assistance, be it monetary or militarily. The settlements will disappear quickly.

Across the border, the Palestinians also need to realize two things. One: Jerusalem will never be theirs. Ever. So it would behoove them to come to terms with this now. It is the Jews’ only holy site; the Israelis have won the wars and they still have the bigger guns. Second, the Palestinians need to come to terms with the fact that their leadership is completely ineffective and is not committed to peace, despite what Arafat says. The Palestinian people would be doing themselves a huge favor to support someone who really wants to end this decades-long war.

Having said all that, and given that there is no real Palestinian leadership committed to peace, all the cards are in the hands of the Israelis. It’s time the Israelis call the Palestinians on all their grand promises and take the situation fully into their own hands.

Peace requires a carrot and a stick, and only the Israelis can provide both. The carrot? The Israelis should pull out of the West Bank and Gaza unilaterally and unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. This doesn’t mean complete freedom across borders. It is the right of any state to protect its borders, which means that if it takes a wall then one will be built. If it takes tight checkpoints into Israel, so be it. But at long last, the Palestinians will have what they have been blowing themselves up for — a homeland. They get what they want.

However, there is the matter of the stick. The Israelis should only leave after having made the following admonishment: after a grace period of six months (ample time to crack down or bring under control any terrorists and paramilitary groups), should there be a single terrorist attack on Israeli soil, it will be treated as a declaration of war, and it will give the Israelis every right to dismantle any leadership however they see fit. Take the war to the people and show them the cost of such atrocities.

Critics will denounce this plan as impossible and unjust for a variety of reasons. They will state there is no way that any Palestinian government could bring under control the various terrorist organizations. However, time and time again the P.L.O. has stated that they can control Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the rest. Like I said before, it’s time for them to show the world they can.

Secondly, people will say that total war is not a proportional response to a terrorist attack. Ignoring the fact that it would be a proportional response to years of terrorism, any survey of global affairs would argue that there is much precedent for this action.

After the first real terrorist attack on U.S. soil, the United States proceeded to dismantle two different governments. The Russians send troops into Chechnya regularly, waging war on the terrorists there. The Russians are willing to kill their own civilians as long as they get the rebels. The Israelis would be following the precedent set by two world powers.

Lastly, it is important to realize this: the Palestinians are extremely dangerous because they have nothing to lose. They are fighting for a cause. Once that cause has been attained and they have something to lose, are they really going to support terrorism if it means Israeli jets are going to bomb them again? If it means losing their sovereignty via occupation again? Will they really want to make martyrs of their children for no cause other than the extermination of Israel? Would they want to give up the international sympathies they have worked so hard to attain?

No one will sympathize with a nation bent on the destruction of its neighbor through terrorism. Once they have something to lose, the stakes are much higher. Unless their hatred for the Jewish state is so great that the cause of their freedom and a homeland really is just an excuse for suicide bombing, the Palestinians would think twice about sending or supporting a terrorist action.

The Israelis need to step away from the negotiating tables and simply impose peace on the area by themselves. Once the Palestinians have lost any valid claim to complain, who will defend them or listen to them bemoan Israeli retaliations to their suicide bombings in the UN? Once the Israelis give them what they want, peace will come, be it forcefully or willingly.

Bobby Roshan ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in international relations and political science.