Sharon's exit strategy

[Classical_Liberal]

Sharon's exit strategy

Originally published April 26, 2004
WHITE HOUSE approval of Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan is paying off politically for the Israeli prime minister. Several hard-liners in Mr. Sharon's Cabinet last week reluctantly agreed to support Mr. Sharon's plan to remove Israeli soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip - where 1.2 million Palestinians live - and a small area of the West Bank. Mr. Sharon cleverly played his biggest fan in Washington, President Bush, off his rivals at home.

Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Limor Livnat, ardent supporters of the settlement movement who initially opposed abandoning the Gaza settlements, couldn't ignore the significance of Mr. Bush's affirmation of Israel's right to maintain large settlements on the West Bank and prevent Palestinian refugees from settling in Israel. In supporting the Gaza plan, Mr. Bush changed U.S. policy, which considered the settlements both there and on the West Bank an obstacle to peace and called for their removal. Now, it is likely they will remain an impediment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The price of Mr. Netanyahu's support for the Sharon plan was predictable - increased funding for the West Bank settlements. Ms. Livnat won assurances that the security fence being built by Israel would veer deep into the West Bank. The more money and protection given the settlements, the stronger their presence on the West Bank. Those factors will undermine the creation of a "viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent" Palestinian state, which Mr. Bush claims to want and reiterated so in his letter of support to Mr. Sharon. And they contravene the U.S.-backed "road map" to peace, which Mr. Sharon claims he will uphold......

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.israel26apr26,0,3835700.story?coll=bal-opinion-headlines

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Sharon's REAL exit strategy

Instigate a full blown war, then nuke every brown skinned man, woman, and child in the Middle East. Is it any wonder Bush and Sharon are buddies?

[reel progressive]

2. that canard again

prime minister sharon is a man of peace ,,, the palestinians don't want peace ,,, remember barak's generous offer

[Classical_Liberal]

5. Sharon a man of peace? I thought you were joking in the other thread

I guess you think Bush is a "real progressive"

The generous offer wasn't all that generous. The Palestinians would have lost control of

http://www.gush-shalom.org/generous/generous.html

[Classical_Liberal]

3. He just likes settlements but that wll likely be the result

. Disreguarding the interests of brown people in the end looks little different from malicious intent.

[comradebillyboy]

4. sharon's exit strategy-remove all arabs

from greater israel (including judea and samaria) by force, except for those good arabs who are willing to do the shit work that israeli citizens won't do, and not complain about rights or dignity; those things are reserved only for actual non-arab israeli citizens.

what, after all, could be more virtuous and rewarding than being a docile and obedient servant to god's chosen people.

since many israeli's in sharon's party hold this point of view, please do not call me anti-semitic.

[reel progressive]

6. those are extremists

99% of israelis want peace and are not hateful ,,, all the hate is on the palestinian side

[Classical_Liberal]

7. 46% of Israelis support transfer

olls conducted in February 2002 in Israel demonstrated that 46% of respondents supported the transfer of Arabs from Judea, Samaria and Gaza while 60% were inclined towards the transfer of Arabs from Israel proper.

http://www.think-israel.org/shusteff.transfer.peace.html

[comradebillyboy]

8. thank you for the stats

nt

[Forkboy]

9. I suggest if you truly believe that

you take a little stroll over to LittleGreenFootballs and read some of that oh so peaceful talk :eyes: