Channels
Photo: Jeremy Feldman
Yossi Beilin: Time for Sharon to go home
Photo: Jeremy Feldman

Time for new elections

14 months of diplomatic freeze is a recipe for violence. Any election outcome is better than the current political outcome

The decision of the government to leave two synagogues in Gaza standing after the destruction of all other structures marked a new high for the cynicism of the prime minister.

 

Instead of leaving the homes and infrastructure intact, and turning them into compensation to the refugees (as agreed in the Geneva initiative), while taking apart the synagogues, Sharon did exactly the opposite, and washed his hands clean: He remained loyal to Jewish 'values,' and the Palestinians fulfilled their part in the script and burnt the synagogues.

 

The withdrawal from Gaza is a precedent for the evacuation of settlements from the West Bank. It also created an unprecedented split in the Likud, and provided Israel with a timeout from the international community.

 

Despite the fact that Sharon says that he has no intention of continuing with diplomatic moves for the current time, his image is littered with a record of not telling the truth. People say, 'he's never told the truth, why should we believe him now when he promises not to do anything? Maybe he'll surprise us and make peace.'

 

But the interview that Sharon gave to Newsweek Magazine and the Washington Post tell the whole story. He invented the 'first stage of the roadmap' and he will be remain in it until the Palestinian Authority destroys the terrorist infrastructure.

 

Calm is not enough for him. He needs a real civil war, without which he will not begin to fulfill his role.

 

He promises to continue with the expansion of the settlement blocs. How will the United States respond, asked the Washington Post correspondent. "I don't think they'll be very happy, but these are blocs of settlements, and we must build. We don't have an agreement with America on this issue, but these territories will be part of Israel," said Sharon.

 

When the reporter asked whether the building work had already started, Sharon said that "construction is going on as we speak."

 

What else does the prime minister have to say so that we understand that he is the same Sharon who, as foreign minister, called for every available hilltop to be settled?

 

The man who was scared two years ago by mounting American pressure has defeated the 'road map," the Geneva initiative, and police investigations against him. He even sacrificed Gaza for the West Bank settlements.

 

The last thing on his mind is to continue is to exploit the Gaza withdrawal to begin peace negotiations, or at least to realize the 'map', or to continue with unilateral withdrawal.

 

No, the prime minister has made due with a gloomy promise that "not all the settlements will remain."

 

He can be sure that Abu Mazen won't fight the Hamas, since the Hamas is stronger than him, for the moment. And that's why Sharon can enjoy from his position in 'long term parking,' and not do a thing. This is the famous Dov Weisglass formula.

 

The task of the peace camp now is to make a huge effort to shorten the days of the government and bring elections forward. First of all, every elections outcome, against the background of what is happening in the Likud, is better than the current political situation.

 

Second, 14 months of diplomatic freeze are preparing the ground for a renewal of violence. Sharon is not the messenger of the peace camp and did not fulfill its vision. He does not believe in peace, and prefers – even when Abu Mazen replaced Arafat – to shut the door in the face of the Palestinians in Gaza, instead of reaching an agreement with them. The peace camp supported him because, during this time, this was the only way to end part of the occupation.

 

That does not change the fact that this government is causing real damage to chances of exploiting the new situation to advance the end of the conflict.

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.17.05, 19:17
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment