It has become abundantly plain, since the unilateral evacuation of Jews from Gaza, that Sharon wishes to repeat the unilateral "evacuation" ploy in the West Bank. To get into position for such a move, he has to gather the major settlements into an enclave that can be included into Israel by putting up the Fence/Wall around them. The new residences planned by Sharon are part of this goal. Once he has the most desired Jewish settlements safely behind the wall/fence, Sharon can call for the evacuation of West Bank Jews who live outside the wall/fence. When this occurs, Israel can maintain that they have unilaterally implemented the two state solution. Palestinians control the area of the West Bank except for those portions which are a part of Israel by virtue of being behind the fence/wall, as well as Gaza. All territories behind the wall are Israeli. End of story. No need for meetings and confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians!

Will this bring peace? I think not. This "solution" deprives the Palestinians of sizable tracts of land that they consider part of their hegemony. It also negates the "right of return" which no Israeli government will be able to accede to, but which could have been used by the Palestinians in negotiations.

My main concern, however, goes much deeper. Even with the acquisition of the West Bank and Gaza I do not see Palestine succeeding as an independent state. They will need much help. The UN will supply some help. The Arab League, frustrated by not succeeding in destroying Israel will probably not help Palestine "make it". A frustrated Palestine can become a very dangerous foe of Israel . In spite of the wall/fence, the armed forces of the Palestinians will be very close to major Israeli citizen concentrations. The Palestinians will be free to invite other Arab states to bring in their armies in support of Palestine. The resulting warfare could be extremely devastating for both sides. The situation is far more acute for Israel. If they defeat the Arabs, the Palestinians will be around to fight again another day.

For Israel, there is no "another day". Once defeated the dream of a Jewish homeland is gone!

Recognizing this dilemma, Israel must take a different stance vis-a-vis Palestine. They have to establish the Middle East as a friendly territory, where Israeli and Palestinians can live side by side working together to establish two successful economies with opportunities for success on both sides. Sharon is primarily a militarist. He makes a great leader when war is inevitable. However, he is not one to arrive at a give-and-take solution. All his actions are aimed at a victory over the enemy. It appears that he may have been successful in his approach with the unilateral departure from Gaza. That is not what is needed now. The next phase must be a cooperative effort for two "successful" states, where the two states carry out shared or complementary programs for the mutual benefit of both.


The suspension of the new Israeli settlement plan is a step in the right direction.

Elchanan Ross