(This article was written September 2005 when the then Israeli Prime Minister pulled out of the occupation of Gaza. It is one of the biggest ironies that Sharon- the very person whose name was synonymous with brutalities of the State of Israel and the chief of artichect of the mass killings at Sabra and Shatila, went futher than any other person to make peace with the very people he tried so hard to eliminate. What the landscape of the Middle East would be today, if Sharon did not succumb to a stroke in January of 2006 after the formation of Kadima, is only to be imagined)
Israel has completed its pullout from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Palestinian nationals from the Gaza have been celebrating this pull-out which has been much resisted by the settlers.
Sharon has been basking in a glow of righteousness while images of the Israeli Defense Forces (once commanded by him) forcibly removing settlers from their settlements are played live in living rooms across the world. Sharon, the very architect of the settlements, evacuating them and razing them to the ground. What is the world coming to?
There are several ways to look at this pullout and there are analyses galore, available for any interested reader. Yet however you parse it one thing is obviously clear. There is no International legitimacy to these settlements which has effectively denied two generations of Palestinians universal fundamental rights.
Sharon initially used national security concerns to justify these outposts. Yes, they were initially security outposts; allegedly a part of a network of public safety measures. Small towns were unofficially encouraged to grow around these security posts which then metamorphosed into large settlements build by the Government.
Security of the state: this was the official claim of the Israeli government. Unofficially the Israelis also used a second track by encouraging religious fundamentalists to claim the land as biblical land promised to them by their God. Thus the larger population of Israel was made to believe that these land belonged to them by virtue of divine law.
However, Sharon has now pulled out Gaza (the much smaller settlement) and parts of West Bank. This is being heralded by the International as a huge sacrifice made by Israel for the sake of peace. (Much like proclaiming a kidnapper as a hero if he releases a third of his victims, no not a third maybe a mere sixth. Go figure.)
But the fact is that the security justifications fell apart as common Israelis never got to lead a safe and secure life as long as the lands were illegally occupied.
So in order to provide some security to the Israelis, Sharon has had to pullout the very settlements and the security posts he set up. He had also now had to forcibly remove settlers from their ‘promised land’ including religious extremists trying to find shelter within synagogues. The very people who were encouraged by him to settle down in these settlements.
Now after having lost the security argument and having denied the claim of religious extremists to the land by forcibly evacuating some, Sharon can no longer claim legitimacy from old Jewish texts and fundamental beliefs.
The fact is that Israeli Government can no longer justify the occupation in any size or form. It is time to hand back the land to the Palestinians and to form a just and lasting settlement in the Middle East.
Sept 2005