Quote (JessiWan @ Oct 11 2023 02:48pm)
Not sure what you guys are saying. So if a country goes to war against another country/people, it is OK to take the land of the defeated? I am not necessarily saying this is wrong, it seems that nations have been engaged in that for thousands of years. But I am pretty sure that that is frowned upon in the modern era. Maybe even a war crime of some kind, if there is also a large-scale displacement of civilians.
Yes. There's nothing magical about borders, and victors can impose conditions upon the vanquished. Border absolutism is a convenient hypocrisy adopted by those happy with the status quo and dropped whenever the status quo is not in their interest.
Having survived through multiple defensive wars, Israel understandably seeks geographically secure borders. I'd think they're reluctant to leave the West Bank fully in large part because it puts them in such an exposed situation. Look at how much land a few thousand militants could seize overnight. Israel might well find itself cut in two.