To Our Readers
Settlement Report | Vol. 14 No. 3 | May-June 2004By Philip C. Wilcox, Jr.
- Israel's Policy of "Creating Facts" Wins over the Bush Administration
- To Our Readers
- Settlements in the Evacuation Mix
- Bush Letter to Sharon Recognizes "Facts on the Ground"
- The Disengagement Plan
- Settlement Timeline
- Letter from Prime Minister Sharon to President Bush
- The Weissglass Letter
- Back Panel Quote
The Bush administration's enthusiastic support for Israeli prime
minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, which the president
described as "historic and courageous," seems at best naive.
Perhaps the administration believes that Israel's unilateral withdrawal from settlements in Gaza could trigger, whatever Sharon's true intent, the eventual collapse of the entire settlement movement and therefore should be welcomed. Control of the West Bank has, however, always been Sharon's strategic goal. He promises to remove only four small West Bank settlements, containing fewer than 1,000 settlers, leaving dozens of other settlements and more than 220,000 settlers under Israeli control. Is Sharon playing salami tactics with the settlers or is his plan a smokescreen--sacrificing the settlements in Gaza while consolidating Israel's hold on the West Bank? It is almost certainly the latter.
Even if Sharon contemplates evacuating additional West Bank settlements, the massive separation barrier is the most tangible test of his goals. Its route in the west and Sharon's plans to retain the Jordan Valley in the east, with or without a barrier there, will prevent the creation of the "contiguous" and "viable" Palestinian state that President George W. Bush supports.
Israelis hope that Sharon's Gaza withdrawal and the separation barrier will increase security. Absent a negotiated departure by the Israeli army, Gaza could continue to breed violence. Without a return to comprehensive negotiations and hope for peace, West Bank militants, viewing Israel's withdrawal from Gaza under fire, will continue the rebellion there.
Perhaps the administration believes that Israel's unilateral withdrawal from settlements in Gaza could trigger, whatever Sharon's true intent, the eventual collapse of the entire settlement movement and therefore should be welcomed. Control of the West Bank has, however, always been Sharon's strategic goal. He promises to remove only four small West Bank settlements, containing fewer than 1,000 settlers, leaving dozens of other settlements and more than 220,000 settlers under Israeli control. Is Sharon playing salami tactics with the settlers or is his plan a smokescreen--sacrificing the settlements in Gaza while consolidating Israel's hold on the West Bank? It is almost certainly the latter.
Even if Sharon contemplates evacuating additional West Bank settlements, the massive separation barrier is the most tangible test of his goals. Its route in the west and Sharon's plans to retain the Jordan Valley in the east, with or without a barrier there, will prevent the creation of the "contiguous" and "viable" Palestinian state that President George W. Bush supports.
Israelis hope that Sharon's Gaza withdrawal and the separation barrier will increase security. Absent a negotiated departure by the Israeli army, Gaza could continue to breed violence. Without a return to comprehensive negotiations and hope for peace, West Bank militants, viewing Israel's withdrawal from Gaza under fire, will continue the rebellion there.
