Israel’s emotional exit from Gaza

What happened?

Israeli troops began evacuating Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip this week, dragging many settlers from their homes and loading them, kicking and screaming, onto buses. The government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had declared that as of midnight, Aug. 14, it would be illegal for Israeli citizens to remain in the Palestinian territory, but as the deadline passed, only around 50 percent of the 9,000 settlers had left voluntarily. In one settlement, a 54-year-old woman was in critical condition after setting herself on fire. Thousands of settlers and other protesters yelled at the soldiers, calling them criminals and begging them to leave. But as The Week went to press, the evacuation of Gaza appeared to be proceeding on schedule.

'œIt's impossible to watch this, and that includes myself, without tears in the eyes,' said Sharon, one of the original architects of Israel's settlement strategy. Sharon announced the pullout back in February, as a goodwill gesture toward the Palestinians and an acknowledgment of the difficulty of defending the isolated settlements amid the rapidly expanding Palestinian population. 'œYour pain and tears,' he said, addressing the settlers, 'œare an inseparable part of the history of this country.'

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What the editorials said

Sharon has taken a 'œhuge risk' by withdrawing from Gaza, said the Orlando Sentinel. Now it's time for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to follow suit. Whether the Gaza pullout rekindles the peace process or stalls it indefinitely depends largely on whether Abbas can rein in terrorist groups like Hamas, which is treating the Israeli withdrawal as a vindication of its violent methods. Abbas has always used 'œpersuasion rather than confrontation' in dealing with militants, but the Bush administration should pressure him to take a tougher approach if a 'œhistoric opportunity' is not to be wasted.

Don't let Sharon off the hook, said The New York Times. While he 'œshould be congratulated for finally doing what he and his predecessors should have done years ago,' withdrawing from the tiny Gaza Strip is a strategic move designed to lessen the pressure on Israel to abandon its larger settlements in the West Bank. 'œThe Bush administration cannot buy into that line of thinking.' If a lasting peace is to be achieved, the Gaza withdrawal must be 'œonly the beginning.'

What the columnists said

There is no denying that this marks a victory for terrorism, said Richard Cohen in The Washington Post. It's true that leaving Gaza makes practical sense given the demographics of the region—9,000 Israeli settlers living among a growing population of 1.5 million Palestinians. 'œBut it was terrorism that made that point so powerfully.' Those in the Bush administration who breezily predict the failure of the Iraqi insurgency should take a lesson from Israel's experience in Gaza, where 'œwithout the violence, Israelis would still be farming.'

Retreating 'œunder fire' will only dim the hope of peace, said Daniel Pipes in USA Today. With fresh evidence that 'œterrorism works,' Palestinian bombers are now sure to use 'œGaza-like aggression' in the West Bank and Jerusalem, then Haifa and Tel Aviv, and onward until 'œIsrael itself disappears.' As the violence spreads, Sharon's Gaza pullout will go down in history as 'œas one of the worst errors ever made by a democracy.'

But what choice did he have? asked John Podhoretz in the New York Post. Leaving Gaza was a 'œgrim necessity,' and though this was a tragic day for those forced to leave their homes, 'œthis was not a tragic day for Israel as a nation.' Israel was saddled with responsibility for Gaza after the 1967 Six-Day War, but this giant 'œrefugee camp' has always been more trouble than it was worth. Israel has had to deploy more soldiers than citizens to keep these settlements safe. After two decades of 'œendless and pointless negotiation' over this tiny strip of land, Israel has taken the bold and noble decision to seize a 'œdestiny of its own choosing.'

What next?