By Dr. Nayyer Ali

September 23, 2005

Sharon Retreats

Last week, the Israeli presence in Gaza came to a complete end as the last soldiers departed, and the Gazans awoke to their first day without checkpoints and Israeli flags since 1967. It was a day of celebration and a day to travel into Egypt without hindrance. For many younger Palestinians it was a day to see the beach for the first time in their lives, as Israel had greedily grabbed the best beachfront land for its settlers, whose presence had created an immense hardship for the Palestinians.
The Israelis dismantled the settlements, but chose to leave the synagogues intact when they pulled out. The Palestinians warned them that this was a recipe for disorder, and of course the mob torched some and damaged others. The Israelis likely did this deliberately, instead of dismantling the synagogues themselves, so that they could make the Palestinians look unruly and mean-spirited. But the synagogues had no further place there, and even in the calmest circumstances they would have been torn down fairly quickly.
For Gaza, the future is now very uncertain. Foremost is defining the actual status of Gaza. It is not an independent country, but what exactly is it? Can it issue passports? Who is in charge? The PA and Hamas both claim credit for the Israeli withdrawal, but who will run Gaza, or will they dance around each other in a weird status quo? And how is Gaza to be linked to the West Bank? How will Palestinians travel freely back and forth?
The PA has two major issues to resolve. The first is the legislative elections that were delayed from last spring. They are now scheduled for next January. If the PA under Abbas can win a convincing majority of the Palestinians, then Abbas can deal with the second issue, which is the disarming of Hamas. Disarming the militant groups is a Roadmap commitment of the Palestinians, and as long as Hamas is actively fighting with Israel, it is unlikely that Israel will enter into final status talks to end the conflict. How Abbas handles this question, especially given Hamas’ claims that they will never disarm until they are victorious, will define whether he can succeed.
For Israel, the withdrawal is the final proof that the dominant part of the Israeli right wing has accepted that Zionism has failed to take over all of Palestine. For right-wing Zionists, the goal has always been to expand the borders of Israel to include all of Palestine, and to push the Palestinians out of the land. During the first Camp David negotiations between Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, Sadat raised the issue of the Palestinians and the fate of the West Bank. Sharon told him that within 20 years, two million Jews will have settled on the West Bank and the land would be part of Israel. Sharon did more to push the settlement movement than any Israeli politician.
But it was Sharon of all people who withdrew the entire settler apparatus from Gaza in just a few days, and pulled out of four settlements in the West Bank on top of that. While this still leaves 370,000 Israeli settlers on the West Bank, it has broken the taboo about withdrawing settlers. Not only was it done, but it was done rather easily. By demonstrating this fact, it makes further settler withdrawal feasible in the context of a peace agreement.
Israel has won every battle it has fought with the Palestinians and with the Arab states around it. Despite that, in many ways, it is losing the war. Ariel Sharon’s retreat from Gaza is ample evidence of that. The Palestinians must take advantage of this opportunity. They need to get their house in order, establish a single state authority that is clean and representative, and then demand what is rightfully theirs. A full and complete Israeli withdrawal out of the entire West Bank, just like Gaza, and the creation of a viable Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.
For Israelis, those that are not part of the settler movement can see the logic of doing just that. Israelis, despite their military strength, have deep feelings of insecurity. However, if it is clear that Israel can be accepted as part of the Middle East in exchange for dealing justly with the Palestinians, then even right-wing Israelis can be brought around. The recent contacts between Pakistan and Israel are useful because they send this exact message. Musharraf is right to offer recognition to Israel, but to make that contingent on a settlement with the Palestinians. Comments can reach me at Nali@socal.rr.com


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