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Peace Process

Israelis notify Sharon: No more retreat


By Ryan Jones
December 02, 2005

An overwhelming majority of Israeli Jews oppose retreating from more of their biblical homeland in order to unilaterally draw Israel's final borders in the event the Palestinian Authority fails to fulfill its role as peace partner.

A poll conducted by Smith Research & Consulting this week showed 67 percent of Israeli Jews are against ceding parts of Judea and Samaria to the ?Palestinians? in the absence of meaningful negotiations resulting from ongoing PA failure to combat anti-Jewish terrorism.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has twice since forming his new Kadima Party told reporters another ?disengagement? is not currently on his agenda, but both times dodged direct questions regarding his planned course of action should the PA, as expected, continue in its non-compliance.

Party colleagues such as Haim Ramon, however, have been kind enough to fill in the blanks.

Ramon told an Israel Channel 10 news program last week that Sharon prefers to follow the internationally-backed Road Map peace plan and come to a negotiated settlement with the Palestinian Arabs.

But if that fails, and ?Palestinian? terror continues, Ramon said Sharon will unilaterally withdraw from most of Judea and Samaria in order to set Israel's final borders.

Last month advisers to the prime minister said he views doing so as his ?historic mission.?

When asked why Sharon would conceal such potentially traumatic intentions from the voting public, Ramon explained it would be foolish of the prime minister to reveal his true plans prior to the upcoming elections.

Allowing the election to become a referendum on the future of Judea and Samaria, as President Moshe Katsav last week suggested it would be, is likely to lead to Sharon's defeat, despite his current strong poll numbers, commentators are arguing.

?Hammer the message home that a vote for Sharon is a vote for retreat and there is nothing he can say that will convince voters that this isn't the case,? regardless of how popular the man may be personally, wrote media analyst Dr. Aaron Lerner of Independent Media Review and Analysis.

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