Strange article by Aluf Benn in Ha’aretz, arguing that what Sharon is asking from Bush in return for withdrawal from Gaza is de facto recognition of Israeli annexation of the Etzion bloc of settlements, the same settlements Israel would have acquired under the Camp David proposals of 2000. Benn concludes that Israel has fought 3.5 years just to get back to where she was in 2000. What Benn never mentions, however, is that it was Arafat and the Palestinians, not Israel, who rejected the Camp David proposals in 2000, and, indeed, Israel agreed to further concessions in Taba a few months later. A settlement along Camp David lines, with, as Bush has insisted, Arafat no longer in power, replaced by someone actually committed to peace and to fighting terrorism, would be a huge victory for Israel.
Comments are closed.