Concept failure in Gaza
The collapse of the border between Gaza and Egypt represents more than anything the collapse of the Israeli concept which holds that Hamas can be made to break through the suffocation and complete blockade of the people living inside the Strip. After the unilateral disengagement from Gaza and the rise of Hamas, the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority stood united to face this new political and military challenge and sought to oust Hamas from power and have it rejoin the PA under Mahmoud Abbas's leadership. Israel's working assumption was that a complete blockade and making life intolerable inside Gaza would stir up general discontent and bring about Hamas's downfall. Israel's method - the closure of all crossings, the lack of basic necessities including fuel and electricity - sought to cause the Palestinian population living in Gaza to lose faith in the Hamas leadership and to sooner than later overthrow it. Olmert must remain the PM
In preparation for the publishing of the final Winograd Report on the Second Lebanon War, the legitimate demand from Labor Chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to announce that he intends to leave the government if and when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remains in his position is resurfacing. I admit that it is not easy to deal with the simplistic and popular catch-phrase which argues that those who failed should "take responsibility" and go home, as if we are talking about a soccer coach or a government clerk who erred. The attempt to portray the issue as if it were Olmert's personal matter buys him wide leverage in the battle with many who turn a blind eye to the dramatic consequences of such a move. Evacuation - Compensation - Now
Defense Minister and Labor party Chairman Ehud Barak's announcement that he supports the evacuation/compensation legislature [intended to compensate West Bank residents who wish to relocate to within the Green Line] spurred anew the public debate surrounding the fate of settlements still beyond the security fence. The waves of terror that plagued Israel earlier in this decade and the construction of the separation fence thereafter brought about a situation in which 65,440 settlers in approximately 74 settlements reside to the east of the fence, deep in the heart of the West Bank. At the basis of the proposed legislation is the Israeli government's moral obligation to allow settlers who live beyond the fence to re-settle inside the borders of the Green Line. It comes as so surprise that the leaders of the settler movement, officials in the Yesha Council, whose role it is to represent the entire population in the territories, choose to act in a comprehensive manner to the proposed initiative and turn their backs on those who are ready to leave immediately. |
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