Making Peace in Israel

Making Peace

"When G-d your Lord brings you to the land you are entering, so that you can occupy it, He will uproot many nations before you... When G-d your Lord places them at your disposal and you defeat them, you must utterly destroy them, not making any treaty with them or giving them any consideration."
Dvarim (Deuteronomy) 7:1-2

"Do not make a treaty with these nations... Do not allow them to reside in your land, since they may then make you sin to Me."
Shemot (Exodus) 23:32-33

"You must drive out the land's inhabitants ahead of you... Clear out the land and live in it, since it is to you that I am giving you the land to occupy... But if you do not drive out the land's inhabitants before you, those who remain shall be barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, causing you trouble in the land that you settle. I will then do to you what I originally planned to do to them."
Bamidvar (Numbers) 33:52-56

The biblical commentators are explicit about the above verses:

"And you shall drive out the inhabitants and then you shall inherit it, you will be able to exist in it. And if you do not, you will not be able to exist in it." Rashi

"When you shall eliminate the inhabitants of the land, then you shall be privileged to inherit the land and pass it down to your children. But if you do not eliminate them, even though you will conquer the land you will not be privileged to hand it down to your children." Sforno

"The verse speaks of others aside from the seven Canaanite nations... Not only will they hold that part of the land that you did not posses, but even concerning that part which you did posses and settle in, they will distress you and say: Rise and get out..." Ohr Ha'Chayim

"Do not cringe before these nations. G-d your Lord is with you, a great and awesome G-d. G-d will uproot these nations before you little by little... G-d will place these nations in your power..."
Dvarim (Deuteronomy) 7:21-24

"If you carefully safeguard and keep this entire mandate that I prescribe to you today, and if you love G-d, walk in all His ways, and cling to Him, then G-d will drive out all these nations before you. You will expel nations that are greater and stronger than you are."
Dvarim (Deuteronomy) 11:22-23

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"No Jew is at liberty to surrender the right of the Jewish Nation and the Land of Israel to exist. No Jewish body is sanctioned to do so. Even all the Jews alive today have no authority to yield any piece of land whatsoever. This right is reserved to the Jewish People throughout the generations. This right cannot be forfeited under any circumstances. Even if at some given time there will be those who declare that they are relinquishing this right, they have neither the power nor the authority to negate it for future generations. The Jewish Nation is neither obligated by nor responsible for any such waiver. Our right to this land, in its entirety, is enduring and eternal. And until the coming of the Redemption, we shall never yield this historic right."

David Ben-Gurion, First Prime Minister of Israel, speech to the 21st Zionist Congress, Basel 1937