2008 Woodie Awards
The Sharon Plan
Yigal M. Gross
Issue date: 3/8/05 Section: Opinion
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In discussing Prime Minister Sharon's controversial plan to unilaterally withdraw Israeli forces and villagers from Gaza, it is important to understand that it is not an Israeli overture to the Palestinians for peace. Contrary to claims by the Israeli right and left, Sharon has not conceded to Amram Mitzna's notion of appeasing the Palestinians, but if anything, recognizes the Palestinians as enemies who are trying to destroy the State of Israel and need to be strategically preempted from achieving the task.
Sharon's plan for a unilateral withdrawal was unquestionably motivated by the realization of a growing demographic crisis in Israel. In short, statistics have shown that in as little as 5 years, the non-Jewish populace will be the majority in the current vicinities of Israel (including the contested territories), threatening to undermine the Jewish character if not the entire existence of the State of Israel. Indeed, realizing this dawning reality, members of the Palestinian Authority such as Saeb Erakat and PA Lawyer Michael Terrazzi have stopped calling for separate Israeli and Palestinian states, and are instead beginning to call for one bi-national non-Jewish state.
Instead of transferring a significant portion of the Palestinian population from Israel or keeping them but denying them voting rights (in effect making Israel an apartheid state), unilateral withdrawal, whereby Israel pre-empts the impending Palestinian demographic conquest by parting with Gaza and its population of 1.3 million Palestinians, allows Israel to maintain its democratic character and international standing. It recognizes the fortunate or unfortunate fact that Israel is dependant on the economic assistance and non-intervention of the international community.
Continued unrest in Gaza also highlights another advantage to unilateral withdrawal, which may or may not be part of the thinking of the Israeli government but nevertheless presents itself as a possibility. It is clear that the Palestinian Authority does not have full control over Gaza. Israel's withdrawal, if done in the proper context, could precipitate a power struggle between rival Palestinian groups that could result in power being seized by a moderate like Mohammad Dahlan, a powerful political figure in Gaza, or by extremists like Hamas. A loss of control over Gaza would prove Abbas's government to be vulnerable and weaken his dictatorial rule over the Palestinian cities in the West Bank, thus making it easier for Israel to swap more territory in Judea and Samaria. Gaza will have charted its course as a separate political entity from the West Bank, affording Israel the strategic advantage of effectively splitting the Palestinian populace in the territories once and for all.
Sharon's plan for a unilateral withdrawal was unquestionably motivated by the realization of a growing demographic crisis in Israel. In short, statistics have shown that in as little as 5 years, the non-Jewish populace will be the majority in the current vicinities of Israel (including the contested territories), threatening to undermine the Jewish character if not the entire existence of the State of Israel. Indeed, realizing this dawning reality, members of the Palestinian Authority such as Saeb Erakat and PA Lawyer Michael Terrazzi have stopped calling for separate Israeli and Palestinian states, and are instead beginning to call for one bi-national non-Jewish state.
Instead of transferring a significant portion of the Palestinian population from Israel or keeping them but denying them voting rights (in effect making Israel an apartheid state), unilateral withdrawal, whereby Israel pre-empts the impending Palestinian demographic conquest by parting with Gaza and its population of 1.3 million Palestinians, allows Israel to maintain its democratic character and international standing. It recognizes the fortunate or unfortunate fact that Israel is dependant on the economic assistance and non-intervention of the international community.
Continued unrest in Gaza also highlights another advantage to unilateral withdrawal, which may or may not be part of the thinking of the Israeli government but nevertheless presents itself as a possibility. It is clear that the Palestinian Authority does not have full control over Gaza. Israel's withdrawal, if done in the proper context, could precipitate a power struggle between rival Palestinian groups that could result in power being seized by a moderate like Mohammad Dahlan, a powerful political figure in Gaza, or by extremists like Hamas. A loss of control over Gaza would prove Abbas's government to be vulnerable and weaken his dictatorial rule over the Palestinian cities in the West Bank, thus making it easier for Israel to swap more territory in Judea and Samaria. Gaza will have charted its course as a separate political entity from the West Bank, affording Israel the strategic advantage of effectively splitting the Palestinian populace in the territories once and for all.