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M.J. Rosenberg is Director of Policy Analysis for , a long time Capitol Hill staffer and former editor of AIPAC's Near East Report.
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By M.J. Rosenberg
June 6, 2004
There seems to be a surprising lack of urgency in Israel about implementing Prime Minister Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan - on the part of everyone except Sharon.
It is surprising because back in April, when Sharon met with President Bush at the White House, it appeared that getting out of Gaza was virtually a done deal.
With the exception of the extreme right, support for Sharon's plan was overwhelming and across the political spectrum. That support has held up, despite the plan's rejection by Likud activists. On Tuesday, a Maariv poll showed 79% support for withdrawal.
Then there is the Bush factor. During Sharon's April visit to Washington, Bush not only emphatically endorsed the Sharon plan but gave him a package of pro-Israel diplomatic assurances designed to enhance the plan's chances at home. The administration says that those assurances are moot unless and until Israel adopts the Sharon plan.
Nevertheless, the Israeli political apparatus seems in no hurry to move toward implementation. Sharon certainly wants action but the tiny minority that defeated the plan in the Likud party referendum has succeeded in gaining the support of Israeli politicians intimidated by the settlers' lobby.
Sharon intends to put the plan before the Cabinet on Sunday but its prospects are uncertain. Even if Sharon wins the vote, the plan could be watered down to either a mere statement endorsing the principle of Gaza withdrawal or a withdrawal in stages, with authorization by the Cabinet at each step of the way.
It is as if Israel has all the time in the world, as if young soldiers were not still risking their lives to protect a few settlers, as if the human rights of 1.3 million Palestinians will forever be subsumed to the desires of 7,000 settlers, as if Israel's standing in the world is not suffering every day that it remains in Gaza.
This last point was demonstrated yesterday in an interview in Haaretz with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which Erdogan was sharply critical of Israel's policies in Gaza.
Erdogan's words matter because Turkey is Israel's closest friend in the Muslim world and its number one trading partner in the region. Israel purchases water from Turkey while Turkey relies on Israeli companies to upgrade its tanks and fighter jets. The two countries have engaged in joint military operations since 1996. In a region in which Israel tends to, at best, hope for "correct" relationships, Turkey has offered consistent friendship to Israel and to Jews in general.
In his interview with Haaretz, Erdogan indicated that Turkey's friendship with Israel is not in jeopardy. He said that he "could not even conceive of any problems between the two peoples." But on a governmental level, the problems were all too real.
The issue is Gaza.
Erdogan recalled that Turkey had welcomed Jewish refugees from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. He then likened Palestinians in Gaza to those refugees of 500 years ago. "Our forefathers," he said, "opened up their hearts and homes to the Jews. Jews were the victims at that time. Today, the Palestinians are the victims, and unfortunately the people of Israel are treating the Palestinians as they were treated 500 years ago. Bombing people - civilians - from helicopters, killing people without any considerations - children, women, the elderly - razing their buildings using bulldozers."
Nothing Erdogan said was different from what one would hear from virtually any Arab or Muslim leader. Feelings run even more strongly among the Muslim population at large, whether in Turkey or Jordan or Egypt. The difference here is that Turkey is not an Arab nation and has long been Israel's friend and, lately, ally. The last thing Israel needs is any sort of rupture in relations with the Turks.
But that could happen if the Gaza plan collapses and if the diplomatic stalemate continues.
And for what? To preserve the rights of 7000 Israeli settlers over those of a million Palestinians?
No one would argue that Israel's security policies should be dictated by other governments, even by governments as friendly as the government of Turkey, or of the United States, for that matter.
But the situation in Gaza has very little to do with Israel's security -- in fact, security considerations dictate withdrawal as Ariel Sharon is the first to argue.
This is not to say that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be resolved once Israel is out of Gaza. It won't be. After Gaza, there are still the issues of the West Bank, mutual security, terrorism and a host of other difficult issues. But Gaza withdrawal can be a significant first step toward resolution of these other issues, particularly if the United States, Egypt and Jordan all help build upon it.
On Wednesday, President Bush told the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs that Gaza withdrawal is a "step toward peace." He added that it would provide "an historic moment of opportunity to begin building a future Palestinian state" and toward "ending the occupation that began in 1967."
Bush is right. But Gaza withdrawal should not be viewed exclusively as a gift for the Palestinians. In fact, leaving Gaza is a favor Israel would be doing for itself. It is Israel, more than anyone, which will benefit from leaving Rafah, Gaza City, and the rest. The Palestinians can and should try to convert Israel's withdrawal into an opportunity for effective self-rule -- but, for Israel, getting out is its own reward.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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