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January 15, 2005
Israel: new narratives?
Are things beginning to shift between the Palestinians and Israel?
With the election of the Mahmoud Abbas the Palestinians caught a whiff of fresh air of democracy, and the possibilities of a new beginning that points to a free and democratic Palestine.
Does the shift also mean that Israel will quickly complete its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip? Maybe.
The Israelis living in Gaza Strip villages, which a former Labor government built for them in the 1970s, have all but lost their battle for majority Israeli public support. They never won much understanding anywhere else.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, argues that relinquishing Gaza has guaranteed Israel’s retention of large settlement blocs in the West Bank, will lead to secure borders more generous than the pre-1967 lines, and contribute to Israel’s economic recovery.
Will there be an accelerated resumption of political negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, leading rapidly to discussions of a formula for a two-state solution?
Perhaps.
The settler movement continues to campaign against disengagement and to oppose the state. That means Ariel Sharon is waging a war against the settlers.
Now that is an irony of history is it not?
So what does that mean?
Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at January 15, 2005 02:42 PM
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