For Sharon, Gaza was just the latest act of a long war

[Violet_Crumble]

The US backing of the pullout has loaded the dice in Israel's favour

David Clark
Monday August 22, 2005
The Guardian

Israel's successful withdrawal from Gaza represents the fulfilment of a longstanding international obligation and meets a key demand of those who wish to see a viable Palestinian state. But it would be a mistake to see it as the first step towards a settlement based on the principle of "land for peace" agreed in the Oslo accords 21 years ago. The idea of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side "in peaceful coexistence and mutual dignity" was just about the furthest thing from Ariel Sharon's mind when he announced his disengagement plan last year. In the psychology of this professional soldier, politics can only ever be the continuation of war by other means.

<snip>

There is nothing particularly new in this. The ambition to annex large parts of the West Bank has been evident since Israel began creating "facts on the ground" and constructing settlements there in the early 70s. The big difference now is that Israel's territorial acquisitiveness - its desire to hold on to what it is not entitled to in either morality or law - has now been officially sanctioned by the United States. In defiance of UN resolutions, and even his own road map, George Bush has pre-empted a final status agreement by accepting that Israel can hold on to its West Bank settlements and refuse the right of return to Palestinian refugees.

Of course, concessions on both points were likely to form part of a negotiated peace. But in accepting Israel's maximalist demands at the outset, President Bush has loaded the dice in Israel's favour and made the achievement of a just settlement a near impossibility. Faced with the combined pressure of the region's strongest power and the world's strongest power, the prospects for the Palestinians look hopeless.

It must be understood that there can be no possibility of real peace without justice. It may be that under the Bush/ Sharon plan some sort of Palestinian entity will come into existence, but it will be weak and dysfunctional, and will fail to command the loyalty of its population. The Palestinians will remain trapped in poverty and despair, and their plight will continue to foster anger and violence. Much of it will be directed against the west.

If this is to be avoided, and if a just and workable settlement is to become possible, it will be necessary for others to combine and act self- consciously as a strategic counterbalance to American influence in the region. The most obvious vehicle for this would be the European Union's common foreign policy, but there are many other countries that could form part of a powerful international coalition. Just as the Americans, on behalf of Israel, have laid down certain parameters for a final settlement, it would be the objective of this coalition to set out the conditions that would meet the Palestinians' legitimate aspirations.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1553960,00.html

[number6]

1. well, will see where it goes from here .....

>It may be that under the Bush/ Sharon plan some sort of Palestinian entity will come into existence, but it will be weak and dysfunctional, and will fail to command the loyalty of its population.<