Someone rewriting from a Israeli Foreign Ministry crib sheet believes that the toxic settlement enterprise helps Israel's long-term security. It doesn't, it hinders security.
From a mere logistic point of view, the Israeli army wasted 48 precious hours during the 1973 Yom Kippur War evacuating the far fewer Golan settlers rather than fighting the Syrians. The settlers simply got in the way. Just think how long it would take to evacuate the West Bank settlers in the event of a war.
Also, Israel spends an inordinate amount of human and financial resources on the security of the 350,000 West Bank settlers -- for not much thanks, it must be said. In fact, in exchange for sometimes downright abuse and hatred by the settlers' own Price Tag terrorists.
The West Bank is no security blanket. The settlements have not prevented one war, one act of mindless violence. It could be argued that they actually sometimes caused or escalated violence.
Israel does indeed concentrate too much of its resources in the centre. However, because it has wasted so much on a pointless enterprise, the settlements, it doesn't have the resources to build and develop the Negev and Galil. The Negev is Israel's future, that's where industry, roads, fast rail and an airport should be built, not leaving everything in place.
The settlements are toxic because they poison the debate in Israel and among diaspora Jews. They are toxic because they are creating hatred and distance. They are toxic because they are a waste.
Israel is the national homeland of the Jewish people, but it seems not to want to integrate into the region and by abusing the messianic dreams of the settlers and using them as pawns it appears to be going the way of any other transient presence in the Middle East. And that must be prevented.
It's time for the settlers to come home, to Israel, to make it an even better place to live. And to ensure wide Jewish support for Israel, our most vital asset.