You are blaming the wrong party

Submitted by Joseph Mamelak (United States), Apr 6, 2005 at 00:24

Dr. Pipes: I understand your position and I agree that in all likelihood the Gaza pullout will not help the Israelis dealing with the Palestinian problem.

But the real problem is not Sharon, nor in the past was the problem with Rabin.

The source of the Israreli problem is international diplomacy , including the USA. If you think that that Sharon is evacuating Gaza as a result of his personal conviction , you are most likely mistaken. More likely is that there was an insistence on Mr Bush's part that Israel must accomodate European opinion during his tenure in officeto secure some political gains towards international acceptance of the status quo on the ground .

Bush most likely left Sharon with a choice of his own making. Sharon came up with the Gaza suggestion which he promised to implement for some guarantees regarding the W Bank from Mr Bush. Mr Bush will likely not be able to keep his promises to Sharon since the Europeans will insist on further compromises and Mr Bush, particularly after Iraq ,will likely find most convenient to impose on Israel.

The recent remarks of Sec'y Rice re some settlements in the W Bank are first indications that Mr Bush is about to force Israel into a new" surrender package" in the name of " peace".

How this will end is hard to tell. But no Israeli is to blame for "surrender" in the face of all this pressure. Starting with UN Resolution 245 in '67 till now, the thrust of diplomacy has been insistence on surrender by Israel strangely coupled with Israeli victories on the ground.

The address for complaints is not a Israeli Prime Minister but the USA Presidency.

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