Begin also stood up to the settlers

Submitted by Caleb (United States), Apr 23, 2010 at 23:32

It was an eerie reprise of the 1949 **Altalena** affair but this time it was 1982 and Menachem Begin was playing the part Ben Gurion played back then. The last phase of the Israeli withdrawal from Sinai involved the turnover, to Egypt, of the settlement of Yamit. Needless to say, the residents of that border settlement didn't want to leave. But no matter how much the **Gush Emunim** people yelled, screamed, jumped up and down, fell to their knees, fought with the police and soldiers, Prime Minister Begin stood firm on the principle that there is one legal government in Israel and that government keeps its word. Contrast this with Israel's current Prime Minister who seems to be in the pocket of an increasingly irrational, even fanatical, settler movement, so bold as to announce further construction in occupied territory, timed to embarrass the government before Israel's most important friend.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".