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| Middle East | |
| Sharon Drops Bombshell: Gaza Settlements to Go | |
| 2004-02-02 | |
| I think Steven den Beste is right: Arafat gambled and lost, there will be NO single state for him to run Israelis out of. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday he planned to evacuate almost all of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, dropping a political bombshell that stunned friends and foes alike. "I have given the order to plan for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip," the right-wing prime minister told the Haaretz newspaper. I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza." Sharon, once considered the godfather of the settlement movement, later spelled out his intentions in a closed-door meeting of his pro-settler Likud party, but gave no time frame. It was the first time Sharon had revealed plans for such a far-reaching withdrawal from territories Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war, and sparked immediate outrage from settler leaders. "I am in shock," Likud legislator Yehiel Hazan said. Sharon’s move appeared aimed at showing Washington, Israel’s chief ally, he is serious about moving ahead with a "disengagement" strategy he has been working on for months before he presents it at the White House later this month. "Usually when the Israeli government speaks about evacuation of settlements, it aims only at public relations," Palestinian cabinet member Saeb Erekat told Reuters. "If Israel wants to leave Gaza...no Palestinian will stand in its way." ummm ... but a) could we still make a living in Israel and b) boy is it going to get violent over here on our side soon The surprise announcement came amid a surge in Israeli- Palestinian violence over the past week that has cast further doubt on the chances of reviving a U.S.-backed peace Opinion polls show a strong majority of Israelis willing to part with Gaza settlements. The largest concentration of settlers is in more than 120 enclaves in the West Bank. In excerpts from the interview, Sharon said he intended to present his plan to President Bush during his visit to Washington later this month. "It has to be done with American agreement and support," he said. "We are talking of a population of 7,500 people. It’s not a simple matter. We are talking of thousands of square kilometers (miles) of hothouses, factories and packing plants. People there who are third-generation." financial restitution, maybe pack up the plants and move the equipment, blow up the buildings on your way out.?? "The first thing is to ask their agreement, to reach an agreement with the residents... it’s not a quick matter, especially if it’s done under fire," he said. Sharon had spoken in recent months only in vague terms about uprooting some of the more isolated settlements under a disengagement plan he has threatened to impose on the Palestinians should the "road map" fail. He has made clear, however, that such an arrangement would leave Palestinians with less land than they seek for a state. A Gaza settler spokesman called Sharon’s comments "miserable" and vowed that the nationalist camp would work "to cut short Sharon’s term as prime minister through legal means."
ah, the wonderful historic concern of the Palestinian people for Israelis In violence early Monday, a Palestinian militant who lost his legs and an arm to an Israeli tank shell a year ago battled soldiers who came to arrest him in a Gaza Strip raid that ended with him being killed along with three other gunmen. Some 10,000 mourners, including dozens of gunmen firing into the air, later marched in funeral processions for the four gunmen. "Sharon, prepare body bags. Blood for blood," the crowd chanted. | |
| Posted by:rkb |
| #14 I can't wait. My fear is that Sharon is merely doing this to take the heat off the investigation into his bribe scandal, What scandal? The allageations took place five years ago, on Crete, and did NOT involve General Sharon himself. The charges appear to be yet another smear against Sharon. Unlike taking the blame for Sabra and Shatilla (which, BTW, neither he nor the IDF was culpable) Sharon won't grab his ankles for this trumped up political charge. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-2-2 10:31:20 PM |
| #13 I tend to think that this will happen. It just makes too much sense not to do this...economic sense, diplomatic sense, and most importantly, military sense, (I have read that every Israeli school bus in the Gaza needs a military escort. The "Wall," seems to be the only practical solution to this intractiable problem. On another level, as a Westerner and a non-jew, (Imagine what it must be like for people living in Israel?), I am just sick of reading and hearing about this conflict. I've followed this for more than 40 years now...and I'm just tired of it, weary. I can only praise Sharon for having the vision to take some practical steps, (seperation and maybe transfer) to bring this to a real end. There is also the important idea that maybe Sharon is positioning Israel for the next war...hopefully fought without the normal restraints placed on Israel. |
| Posted by: Traveller 2004-2-2 8:16:23 PM |
| #12 "I have given the order to plan..." This is a lot different than "I have ordered the evacuation..." isn't it? Time will tell, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon. Too much resistance. |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-2-2 4:49:30 PM |
| #11 We are talking of thousands of square kilometers (miles) of hothouses, factories and packing plants RKB this a typo...?I> It's in the original article. Can't say if it's accurate. But, I did see some amazing greenhouses in Israel in 1987, so it may be accurate. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-2-2 12:55:00 PM |
| #10 rkb, by high ground I mean literally the topographically high ground. It's the strategic part of the West Bank and it butts up to the border of Israel. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-2-2 12:05:25 PM |
| #9 We are talking of thousands of square kilometers (miles) of hothouses, factories and packing plants RKB this a typo...? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-2 12:00:03 PM |
| #8 I propose that the settlers receive a free screening os Escape From New York and Army of Darkness to give them an idea of what life beyond the wall will resemble. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-2-2 11:46:46 AM |
| #7 I hope he does it, for all sorts of reasons: -it would be concrete evidence that Israel is complying with some of the provisions of the "roadmap," and the ball would be in the paleos court to do item #1 on their list: STOP THE TERRORISTS! -it might get the euroweenies to SHUT THE FUK UP. Well, for a few days, at least, till they figure out how to spin this as a bad thing for the poooooor paleos. -it would put arafart on the defensive, which in my book is always a good thing. mebbe it'll speed up his demise. if allah wills it, that is (though a JDAM is always a good fallback). -with "paleo self rule" in gaza (no Israeli troops, no Israeli money, no Israeli nuthin'), they'll stew in their own incompetence, greed, corruption and infighting. I can't wait. My fear is that Sharon is merely doing this to take the heat off the investigation into his bribe scandal, and that it will never amount to anything. he did't publish a timetable or lay out any specifics. |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-2-2 11:23:05 AM |
| #6 Good move by Sharon - if they won't leave you just don't have to protect them. Israel needs to pull back to permanent defensible borders, and let the Paleos kill each other off in a civil war. We can call it Seethingstan |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-2-2 11:10:09 AM |
| #5 you leave the factories and greenhouses, and if the pals ever come asking for compensation for "refugees" from israel, you deduct the value of factories and greenhouses. Arik Sharon is looking like a man of courage - i hope he can pull this off. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-2-2 11:02:25 AM |
| #4 Only 7,500 people? It has to be cheaper to give those families a better piece of land and save the associated costs. Besides, it will make it a whole lot easier to treat Gaza as an enemy country without the burden having to protect those settlers at the same time. Good idea. |
| Posted by: B 2004-2-2 10:34:20 AM |
| #3 If by "high ground" you mean morality, I disagree, Ruprect -- the farms and industries created there were done so by hard work and sacrifice on the part of Israelis. The wider issue of the creation of Israel is a messy one, in part due to the bungling of international organizations such as the UN. And why on earth is it Israel's job to create Palestinian suburbs? Let Arafat spend some of the $835 million he siphoned off into personal accounts - the money was given for the benefit of a fledgling palestinian state. The fact that that "state" has done little or nothing to build infrastructure, create a functioning educational system, attract industry or otherwise do anthing other than plan attacks on Israel is not Israel's fault. I am not an automatic fan of Israel and some of her actions. But having done a little business in that region a while back, if I have to choose sides, it's clear to me which is the functioning democracy and which is a corrupt failure. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-2-2 10:29:09 AM |
| #2 My view is that Isreal tried hard to engage with the 'palestinians' and it didn't work. So now they will separate and put a wall around them and let them stew in their own mess. It will be the mother of all failed states that never were, and I wonder what the Arabs and the Euros and the UN will do about it. Probably not much! |
| Posted by: phil_b 2004-2-2 10:26:59 AM |
| #1 Giving up the Gaza settlements is a no brainer. Its not as if they're on the high ground or anything. Israel should have pulled out of their long ago. They also should build suburbs in a section of desert right next to Gaza, build a wall around it, and let the Pals have it. Then any Pals that screw around in the West Bank get deported to Gaza. Eventually the West Bank will either settle down or the Arab population will all be shifted to Gaza. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-2-2 10:12:28 AM |