Middle East
Gaza Strip
Gritting Our Teeth
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| Israeli army vehicles roll along the border of the Gaza Strip on June 30, 2004. (Photo: Nadav Neuhaus/AFP-Getty Images) |
Terror attacks in the Gaza Strip and from the Gaza Strip prove again and again that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. While the Sharon administration has pledged to evacuate the strip of settlers and soldiers, and is getting ready to do so, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are doing everything they can to sabotage the Israeli initiative. There is no need for opinion polls to see that most of the inhabitants of Gaza can't wait for us to leave. With America, Europe and the World Bank promising to inject funds into the region for rehabilitation and job development, their motivation to see us gone is sky-high. In Israel, too, most people are in favor of withdrawing from Gaza, which has been a trouble spot from day one.
But we also have our extremists. We also have our share of hoodlums and religious leaders waving around bans and religious prohibitions. Now the old "law of the pursuer" has been whipped out of the drawer, as if the assassination of one prime minister weren't enough in the crusade to stop Israel's withdrawal from the territories.
It's not easy to say this, but facts are facts: Extremists, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian, are birds of a feather. They are a minority trying to impose a life of bloodshed and pain on the majority, spurred on by a mixture of religious and political fundamentalism. This is a lethal brew for two peoples who are supposed to live side by side. Fanatics on both sides nourish one another in an unwritten blood pact that only breeds hatred and violence and ruins any chance for a permanent accord. What a pity that we have no one like Yigal Horowitz with the guts to shout: Come down from the rooftops, you crazies!
The defense establishment is predicting a new wave of terror - Qassam rockets, exploding tunnels, suicide bombings, etc. - designed to screw up the disengagement timetable or create a situation that would allow the Palestinians to say they "chased us out." When the prime minister heard about the attack on the kindergarten in Sderot, all of a sudden he was a hotheaded brigade commander again, swearing to drown the Gaza Strip in blood. Good thing the generals pinned him down and kept him from ordering another Operation Defensive Shield. Sharon must watch himself and take care not to overdo things if he doesn't want to wreck his own initiative.
Sharon and Mofaz are allies today in the matter of unilateral disengagement. But if terror increases, the two could lose the slim majority they now enjoy for putting Sharon's historic plan into practice. Israel's comings and goings from the Gaza Strip after each terror attack are like aspirin. They ease the pain but they don't cure the disease.
Between the two options open to Israel - reoccupying the Gaza Strip or withdrawal - withdrawal is the answer. It will whittle down the frontline, free us from the burden of 1.2 million Palestinians, and allow a whole division of soldiers to carry out other missions - not to mention the Brownie points Israel will win for leaving the settlements. For the first time, the world will believe us when we say we're bidding occupation goodbye. Nothing could be worse than our presence in Gaza, which is turning into Lebanon at its worst. Those who argue that missiles will be lobbed at Israeli towns even after the pullback from Gaza should think back to Lebanon. Overnight, the hell was over. The Gaza Strip, with Egypt as a shadow benefactor, the Europeans actively involved and an influx of money for reconstruction and economic development, will be an incentive for continuing the process. The Palestinians should have a closer look at the letters from Bush that Sharon is so happy about. When it says, "the large blocs of settlement will remain under Israeli sovereignty in the wake of an agreement" it means that Israel will be gone from 95 percent of the West Bank.
Israel's interest now is (a) to keep fanatics on either side from dictating the agenda and (b) to respond from the brain rather than the gut, meaning no demolition of houses, no hot pursuit of bomb workshops and no aerial bombings. Now is the time to grit our teeth and march forward - even under fire - to separate ourselves from the Gaza Strip.
