By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Dec 17, 2004
Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip could pose a direct threat to the entire world, and especially to the Jewish state’s allies in the West, Major General (res.) Yaakov Amidror told the Herzliya Conference Thursday.
Amidror warned that in the absence of an Israeli presence, Hamas would turn Gaza into a safe haven for Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terrorist network.
"The disengagement plan will turn Gaza into the only shelter state in the world for the Al-Qaida organization," he told the gathering.
Earlier in the week, the Jerusalem-based Institute for Contemporary Affairs published a report on the matter by Amidror, who is a former head of Israel’s military intelligence.
In that report, Amidror explains that “the eventual takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas certainly cannot be ruled out.”
"Even if the Hamas takeover is partial and Hamas only shares power with Fatah in Gaza, the political behavior of a post-withdrawal Palestinian government will have to be very carefully monitored,” he notes.
Amidror’s report predicts that Western pressure will prevent Israel from taking the steps necessary to keep Al Qaeda out of Gaza following a general pullout.
“As Israel prepares for its disengagement, a grave threat exists that Gaza will become an international terror base,” the general writes.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, publicly interrupted Amidror’s address to the Herzliya Conference to attack his position.
Weisglass asserted that Sharon’s retreat plan was not a final solution, “but a careful step to test what is going on and see how reality is being molded, and if things don't develop as expected - we'll stop.”
Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin made a similar promise before signing the Oslo Accords, saying he would pull the plug on the whole peace process if the “Palestinians” took advantage of Israeli concessions to escalate terrorism.
His word went unfulfilled.