ISRAEL: Gaza withdrawal, 3 years later
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Three years ago, Israel implemented Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s ‘disengagement’ plan and withdrew from the Gaza Strip, removing 21 Jewish settlements. The government acted unilaterally, saying that there was no Palestinian partner with whom to work. Most Israelis supported the move, feeling the Israeli civilian and military presence in the crowded Palestinian territory was more trouble than it was worth and that withdrawing from it would put Israel on more practically and morally defensible grounds. For many Israelis, leaving Gaza was good riddance, a relief. For the settlers, it was a personal and communal disaster.
Today, some of those who supported the plan feel the move was at best pointless. Others believe it has backfired entirely. The plan, as archived on the Knesset website, states that ‘the Gaza Strip shall be demilitarized and shall be devoid of weaponry’ and that it will ‘lead to a better security situation, at least in the long term’. Sharon and other officials had warned that Israel would respond harshly to any Kassam rocket fire after the disengagement. Last week home-front command officials warned that the city of Ashdod too should prepare for rocket attacks, as they continue to improve in range.
On Wednesday, former settlers marked the third anniversary of the withdrawal. Gathering as close as they could get to the Gaza Strip, they congregated near the Kissufim crossing with some of the razed communities within view. Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha Council, said they still felt the pain of the deliberate destruction of thriving Jewish communities and anger not only at the ‘moral crime’ but the ‘folly and terrible results of the expulsion.’ Some settlers have begun registration for 20 groups that will reestablish the communities when the Israeli Defense Force returns to the Gaza Strip, which they believe is an inevitable security imperative.
A poll conducted among the former Jewish settlers found that 55% of them needed psychological treatment and a similar number say their physical and emotional health has suffered since the withdrawal. Some 42% believe the disengagement changed attitudes among the family’s youths about service in the IDF, lowering motivation to serve. As many as 70% find their financial situation worse, unemployment among former settlers is three times the national average and 15% are dependent on friends and family for financial support. The government has failed in its treatment of the settlers of Gush Katif, say 98% of the respondents.
Three years later, Shosh Slutzky, formerly of the settlement of Ganei Tal, tells Israel radio she was still angry: ‘I still cannot wave the Israeli flag on Independence Day.’
— Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem.
click to enlarge.