Source: Ynetnews
Oct 06, 2006
Cabinet minister Tzahi Hanegbi told Israel Radio Thursday that Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip had been a mistake that damaged national security.
Hanegbi originally backed the so-called "disengagement" plan, but said recent events had made it clear that the move did not contribute to Israel's peace or security, as promised by Ariel Sharon and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Hanegbi explained that the summer's Lebanon war likely would not have happened had Hizb'allah not been so encouraged by the scene of Israel forcibly uprooting Jews in the face of ongoing "Palestinian" terror.
The Arabs, said Hanegbi, had interpreted the pullout as an act of weakness.
Hanegbi, a member of Olmert's Kadima Party, currently chairs the powerful Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.