Haaretz
Tishrei 23, 5765
The segments of an interview granted by Dov
Weisglass, the senior adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former
director of the Prime Minister's Office, to Ari Shavit, in Wednesday's
paper, and appearing in full in today's Haaretz Magazine, has stirred up
stormy political reactions. Weisglass is quoted as saying that "the
meaning of the disengagement plan is a freeze to the diplomatic process
[with the Palestinians]," and "when you freeze the political process, you
prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and you prevent a
discussion on the subject of refugees, borders and Jerusalem. This whole
package called `the Palestinian state' has been removed from the daily
agenda for an unlimited period of time."
The publication of the
interview has led the U.S. administration to demand clarifications from
the government, and has resulted in a wave of political criticism. On the
left there have been arguments that the adviser has exposed the true
intentions of the prime minister, but these notwithstanding, disengagement
from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria will result in a major withdrawal
also from the West Bank and in the establishment of a Palestinian state.
On the right they claimed that the statements prove Sharon's lack of
credibility, and asserted that they were made for political
reasons.
The prime minister issued a clarification, in which he
expressed his commitment to the road map (the international plan for the
establishment of a Palestinian state), and blamed the failure to advance
on the diplomatic level on the Palestinians, who he said do not comply
with their commitment to combat terrorism. U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powel reiterated to Sharon that he, the prime minister, has made a
commitment to the road map.
Weisglass's statements should not
divert attention from the main issue: the significance of implementing the
disengagement plan and the evacuation of the settlers from the Gaza Strip
and northern West Bank. The evacuation of settlements deep inside areas
densely populated by Palestinians is of supreme national interest, and the
perpetuation of their existence is too costly for Israel, in diplomatic,
security and moral terms.
With all due respect to the prime
minister's adviser, he has no control on the future, and his analysis of
the disengagement is no better than that of other politicians and pundits.
Weisglass is talking about a freeze in the diplomatic process? Better a
stall in the diplomatic process without settlements in the Gaza Strip,
that no diplomatic movement under the existing positions in the
territories.
Sharon's disengagement plan is far from perfect. It
will not bring an end to the conflict and it is doubtful whether it will
put a stop to terrorism and fighting. The prime minister initiated the
plan and altered his stance on the settlements because of domestic and
external pressure, and did so without adopting the ideology or the
proposed solution of the left. His unilateral approach is flawed, and it
is best to hold negotiations with a Palestinian side that is known and
responsible, that will take responsibility for security in the Gaza Strip
after the withdrawal. The violence of the past week in the Gaza Strip
highlights the danger inherent in a "security vacuum" there, and showed
that even on the way to the disengagement the IDF was forced to penetrate
deep into Palestinian territory.
Still, under the current political
conditions, the prime minister's plan is the only one offering to change
the bloody diplomatic and security status quo, and it has a realistic
chance to be carried out. Sharon's "real" intentions, and his problematic
record, are a lot less important than his actions: the implementation of a
unilateral disengagement is better than a fruitless diplomatic process
leading to a dead end. Therefore, Sharon must be supported with his
actions being the test of his intent.