Some Thoughts On Gaza Strip Settlement Withdrawal - By The Political Heretic

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Israeli troops began serving eviction notices to Israeli settlers
in the Gaza Strip, a narrow strip of land bordering Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea it seized after winning the 1968 Six-Day War. Israelis seized the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights after defeating its hostile neighbors to the northeast (Syria), West (Jordan) and Southwest (Egypt). They hoped these acquisitions would improve their security but occupation won them new enemies from the displaced Palestinians who lost their homeland.
Rival Palestinian groups are now claiming credit for the withdrawal. On Sunday Hamas representatives strung up a green banner saying “Resistance wins” and the Palestinian National Authority held a rally earlier on Friday. Neither group can legitimately claim full credit for planned Israeli withdrawal. Palestinian terrorist attacks failed to dislodge Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and West Bank for almost 38 years and furthered the Israeli government’s resolve to find and try the terrorists who killed innocent civilians but it did undermine claims that such an occupation would allow the people to live secure and peaceful lives.

The Palestinian moderates who signed onto the Oslo accords have won some important political victories. The Palestinians have won autonomy in the Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and the withdrawal from Israeli settlements today end the Zionist dream for a “Greater Israel.” The withdrawal from the Gaza Strip provides a new precedent which can be followed later in the West Bank should the Palestinians prove themselves to be worthy negotiating partners.

But the moderates’ own role in winning this withdrawal depended in part on their more radical terrorists’ rebellion. If no one was willing to kill innocent Israeli citizens, Prime Minister Sharon and his predecessors probably would not have agreed to bargain in the first place.

Much too, can be said for the Israel’s improved relations with its neighbors. The Jordanians and Egyptians have made their peace with the Israelis. Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, and has increased its trading relationship with the Jordanians. The Syrians have all but conceded Israel’s right to exist and only insist upon the return of the Golan Heights before it makes its peace with them and it is losing its hold over puppet state Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had every reason to believe he could relinquish control over the Gaza Strip. Mr. Sharon knows that the occupation has outlived its usefulness now that Egypt and Jordan have made their peace with the Israelis. Combine that with Palestinian terrorist attacks and the moderates’ promise to achieve their coveted independence; Israelis were losing more than they gained by holding onto the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinians are worried about the future
. They are not sure if the withdrawal is for real or if the Israelis would re-occupy the territory if Hamas launched further attacks upon Israeli citizens in Israel proper. The Palestinians have no confidence in their own government’s ability to provide for their security and economic needs. The Gaza Strip has no resources to speak of, requiring it to rely on tourism. Private organizations have raised money to preserve the green houses so they could raise some of their own food and sustain a living not totally dependent upon Israel proper.

But the Palestinian authority has little to show for itself yet. Israeli leaders trust President Mahmoud Abbas more than Yasser Arafat but he still has yet to prove himself. To date he keeps the peace by negotiating with the terrorists but has not yet asserted his authority as the true representative for the Palestinian people. Mr. Abbas will have to challenge Hamas, and arrest those conspire with suicide bombers if he is going to maintain his working relationship with the Israeli administration. The government will not remove its settlers in the West Bank and risk further alienation if it gets no peace in return.

With the Israelis gone, Mr. Abbas will have only himself and Hamas to blame for Gaza Strip’s difficulties. He would do his party and his cause well by focusing on his people’s economic needs. If he gives his people a future to look forward to and cuts terrorist attacks, Israelis may agree to relinquish some more settlements in the West Bank.