Israel’s former prime minister and current finance minister resigned from the government yesterday. Some of his comments are worth repeating. I think we’ll find them accurate, sooner than later. These quotes are from articles in the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz, with some comments.
“The disengagement is going ahead blindly,” Netanyahu said. “Like in Oslo, the warning signs are being ignored. I understand the intentions here – who doesn’t want peace? But here in the Middle East this is not the way to attain peace – it has failed before and it will fail again.”
It’s not only Oslo, but it’s the repeated history of Jews and Arabs in Palestine/Israel throughout the 20th century. That it has failed every time – does that mean that it will certainly fail next time? I suppose not, but it certainly should demand extreme caution. Already we’re seeing many missiles being fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel (not settlement communities, but pre-67 Israel communities). With Israel out of Gaza, will the missiles suddenly stop? Not a chance.
“I can live with myself, and say this [disengagement] is something I can’t be a part of. Remember, I am the son of a historian. What will they say of me [in the future], was he part of this, or not? I want to know that in 10 years, 50 years, 100 years they will say unequivocally – he was not part of this.”
I believe him, though I also believe that he is acutely aware of the political aspects and acts according to those as well. Nothing has really changed in the last 12 months that he has been in the government. Why he is resigning now instead of a year ago isn’t answered by the above statement. In any case, he is wise to not want to be party to this folly. And he may remember that as prime minister he actually enacted another “disengagement” (Hebron) which resulted only in evil.
“This isn’t the government that I joined. The disengagement contradicts the Likud’s principles and the mandate we were given. The government is acting blindly against all of the warnings,” he said.
I don’t think most Americans realize this. The parallel would be Bush unilaterally and quickly withdrawing all American forces from Iraq, after campaigning in 2004 to not do that.
“I am not prepared to be a partner to a move which ignores reality, and proceeds blindly toward turning [the Gaza Strip] into a base for Islamic terrorism which will threaten the state,” Netanyahu wrote in the letter whose text was obtained by Israel Radio.
Does anyone really doubt this? If not, why are they proceeding?
Netanyahu called the disengagement “an irresponsible step which will endanger Israel’s security, split the people, institute the principle of return to the 1967 borders, and in the future, endanger Jerusalem as well.”
Delete the “split the people” part, as any move (or non-move) in Israel does that. Much more important is the reality that Sharon seems to be heading towards the 1967 borders, and he is certainly giving hope to the Palestinians and the world that such is a possibility. It must not be.
UPDATE: Daniel Pipes gives some support to the possibility that things will be worse, not better.
I don’t think most Americans realize this. The parallel would be Bush unilaterally and quickly withdrawing all American forces from Iraq, after campaigning in 2004 to not do that.
I don’t think this is accurate. If Bush pulled out of Iraq, he would fail his mission, but most Americans would not be in immediate danger.