THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 102, May 4, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
ISRAEL'S RETREAT FROM GAZA
By Daniel Mandel
ARIEL SHARON'S PLAN FOR UNILATERAL ISRAELI DISENGAGEMENT FROM GAZA, WHEREBY ISRAEL, WITHOUT A GENUINE
PEACE AGREEMENT WITH THE PALESTINIANS & OTHER ARABS, WITHDRAWS ITS MILITARY & CIVILIANS FROM THE GAZA STRIP:
A CLEAR & UNAMBIGUOUS PLAN FOR ISRAEL'S RETREAT IN THE FACE OF TERRORIST ATTACKS -- A PLAN WHICH, WHEN
IMPLEMENTED, WILL EMBOLDEN THE TERRORISTS & SERIOUSLY WEAKEN & UNDERMINE THE POSITION OF THE STATE OF
ISRAEL IN ITS WAR FOR SURVIVAL AGAINST THE FORCES OF ARAB & ISLASMIST TERRORISM
FULL STORY:
Since December, 2003, Ariel Sharon has astonished friend and foe alike, embracing the very idea he opposed in the elections that
confirmed him in power in January, 2003.
The idea is "unilateral disengagement," whereby Israel, without a peace agreement, withdraws its military and civilians from the
territories administered by Israel since the 1967 war -- in this case, the Gaza Strip. The Labor Party opposition leader, Amram
Mitzna, lost badly campaigning on this very platform, coming in for incisive criticism from not a few figures, not just among the
governing Likud Party, but from a bevy of informed Israeli observers. To cite just two:
Historian Michael Oren:
"The minute you pull out of Gaza, you signal to the Arabs that you're in retreat. It's a huge
victory for the Palestinians. Palestinians will have huge celebrations in Gaza. You think they'll
sit down and talk after that?"
Respected Centrist journalist, Yossi Klein Halevi:
"If unilateral withdrawal could happen in a void, it would be the right decision. But it is not
happening in a void . . . The psychological implications are to reinforce the post-Lebanon
withdrawal perception in the Arab world that we are a defeatist society and with enough
pressure we'll simply withdraw."
Indeed, Ariel Sharon himself could not have been clearer at the time:
"A unilateral withdrawal is not a recipe for peace. It is a recipe for war."
If these criticisms are correct, then unilaterally withdrawing from Gaza is a victory for terrorism; bloodshed is likely to flow from it,
and Sharon, of all people, must know it.
What, then, is Sharon's rationale? According to his supporters, both Right and Left, the withdrawal represents Israel seizing the
initiative, setting its own lines of defense, and preempting noxious diplomatic initiatives from Israel's ill-wishers. But all this looks
doubtful. True, the Israeli Defense Forces will be relieved of the onerous duty of defending isolated Jewish communities in a sea of
enemies, but its absence from Gaza will also afford Palestinian terrorist groups a freer hand for mounting further attacks. And an
initiative that stimulates the aggression of terrorists will not be altered by its originating in Jerusalem, as the terrorists themselves
make clear.
Thus, Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, has opined:
". . . all the Israeli statements about a withdrawal from Gaza Strip are due to the Palestinian
resistance operations. We are completely confident that, as the Hezbollah Organization
managed to kick the Israeli forces out of Lebanon, the Palestinian resistance will kick them out
of the Palestinian territories, and we will continue our resistance."
A top Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud al-Zahar, concurs:
"Very simply, nobody can deny that. if Israel is going to leave the Gaza Strip and part of the West
Bank, that was because of the intifadah, because of the armed struggle, because of the big
sacrifices of Hamas for this goal."
Add to this that the current cease-fire is giving terrorists a breather from ducking into bunkers and dodging Israeli drones, all the
while recouping for another round.
All indications, then, are that the terrorists will be the leading beneficiaries of a unilateral Israeli withdrawal, appearing vindicated in
asserting that terrorism, first and foremost, is the way. When the cease-fire collapses, as it must, foreign offices the world over will
be clamoring for still more diplomatic motion and will take a dim view of resumed Israeli counter-terrorism measures. If setting the
agenda, securing one's own, and preempting dangerous diplomacy is the idea behind the Gaza withdrawal, Israelis are likely to be
disappointed.
Indeed, it could be said that Sharon is pursuing this doomed initiative as a result of diplomatic defeat. The "road map" peace plan
was always going to serve as a guarantor of Palestinian malfeasance. Devised by the European Union, United Nations, the Russians,
and the U.S. State Department, the road map is to lead to a Palestinian state regardless of what Palestinians do.
Ingenious explanations can be offered for Israel's actions, but only one fits all the facts -- the Israelis are punting, grasping for a
solution that is all the more enticing for looking like what, in other circumstances, might be sound policy. Instead, it has the savor of
panic and defeat, made worse by delusive rationalization.
The Israelis are in the unpleasant position of making do with policies they opposed at the ballot box. But the United States is in no
such position. Americans are fighting the same Islamist terrorist groups. The Bush administration, which looks like it's rewarding the
unreconstructed Palestinian Authority with levels of aid not even contemplated by Bill Clinton in his more expansive moments,
should think twice about supporting policies that weaken its best Middle Eastern ally, while emboldening the terrorists it is also
fighting. It is not too late for a dose of good sense.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The Israeli-Arab Conflict
The Middle East & the Arabs
Radical Islam & Islamic Terrorism
War & Peace in the Real World
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Daniel Mandel is Associate Director of the Middle East Forum in Philadelphia and author of H.V. Evatt and the Establishment
of Israel: The Undercover Zionist.
The foregoing article by Daniel Mandel was originally published in the Boston Globe, May 2, 2005 and can be found on the
Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
May 2, 2005
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