Israeli Political Roundup - Turns Out, Sharon Not So Democratic After All
Regular readers of this blog (yes, all eight of you) know that I'm an unenthusiastic but firm supporter of Sharon's disengagement plan - preferring to see handled in the most unilateral, scorched earth way possible. So I do think it's pretty funny when Sharon brushes off the rabble and insists on doing what he thinks is best for Israel:
The Likud Central Committee overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday urging the party's MKs to work for the enactment of legislation to enable a referendum on the disengagement plan. The decision was yet another slap in the face from his party for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon...
In an aggressive speech - punctured by periodic calls of "Sharon, go home!" and "Sharon is a dictator!" - the prime minister made it clear that he intends to pay no more attention to this decision than he has to other party decisions that contravened his plans. "We have made difficult decisions in the cabinet and Knesset in defiance of your opinions, and those decisions will be carried out as scheduled," he declared.
But I don't think it's funny that the battle to spin the disengagement plan is getting away from Israel:
Prior to the announcement of the disengagement plan, 75% of the Palestinian public believed that the intifada had failed, but a few months after the planned withdrawal was announced, 74% agreed that the plan is "a victory for the armed struggle."... Then came the disengagement announcement which caused a revolution: the feelings of despair turned into support for terror, he said.
Again, I think that disengagement is necessary to diffuse the demographic time-bomb in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. But there are steps that can be taken in order to convince the Palestinian and larger Arab public that Israel is leaving Gaza and the West bank on their own terms - that is, to minimize the deterrence hit that disengagement will entail. I hesitate to say this, but Women in Green is right on this question: raze the settlements on the way out. That's one easy step. The other, much more difficult step, is to raze Hamas on the way out too. Al Jazeera can't beam pictures of terrorists can't celebrate in the streets of settlements if the terrorists are dead.
The Likud Central Committee overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday urging the party's MKs to work for the enactment of legislation to enable a referendum on the disengagement plan. The decision was yet another slap in the face from his party for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon...
In an aggressive speech - punctured by periodic calls of "Sharon, go home!" and "Sharon is a dictator!" - the prime minister made it clear that he intends to pay no more attention to this decision than he has to other party decisions that contravened his plans. "We have made difficult decisions in the cabinet and Knesset in defiance of your opinions, and those decisions will be carried out as scheduled," he declared.
But I don't think it's funny that the battle to spin the disengagement plan is getting away from Israel:
Prior to the announcement of the disengagement plan, 75% of the Palestinian public believed that the intifada had failed, but a few months after the planned withdrawal was announced, 74% agreed that the plan is "a victory for the armed struggle."... Then came the disengagement announcement which caused a revolution: the feelings of despair turned into support for terror, he said.
Again, I think that disengagement is necessary to diffuse the demographic time-bomb in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. But there are steps that can be taken in order to convince the Palestinian and larger Arab public that Israel is leaving Gaza and the West bank on their own terms - that is, to minimize the deterrence hit that disengagement will entail. I hesitate to say this, but Women in Green is right on this question: raze the settlements on the way out. That's one easy step. The other, much more difficult step, is to raze Hamas on the way out too. Al Jazeera can't beam pictures of terrorists can't celebrate in the streets of settlements if the terrorists are dead.
