Sunday, July 2. 2006
By Tony Karon (Time)
It took less than a year for Olmert to send the Israeli military back into Gaza after withdrawing from the territory last August. They're not planning to stay, of course - the army is there in response to the kidnapping of a 19-year-old corporal, and also to put a stop to rocket fire from northern Gaza into Israeli territory. Even if they do retreat again from Gaza in a matter of days or weeks, the current dynamic in the Palestinian territories suggests they'll inevitably be back.
The kidnap drama has simply highlighted a fundamental flaw in the policy of unilateral withdrawal on which Olmert based his election campaign. Absent any agreement with a Palestinian government that is willing and able to enforce order, militants will continue to attack Israel. The idea that Israel can "disengage" from the Palestinians without their cooperation is wishful thinking.
Israel has already made clear that if Corporal Gilad Shalit is killed, it will exact a terrible revenge on the Palestinian political leadership. It may even target Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh...
The events of recent weeks has exposed the emptiness of the promise that unilateral withdrawals would free Israelis of the moral burden of occupation and make them safer behind a high wall. No wonder Israeli media are reporting that the violence in Gaza has turned Israelis against Olmert's plans for further pullouts from the West Bank.
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