Gaza Disengagement

Palestinians whom I have spoken to are cynical about the Gaza withdrawal plan, for a variety of reasons.

Most importantly, it won't lead to any kind of real independence for the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel will still control the borders, and therefore the economy, and freedom of movement. Gaza is basically one big refugee camp, and this plan holds out little hope for improvement.

Also, they are offering the settlers somewhere between $200,000and $300,000 each to vacate the settlements. This was land stolen from Palestinians originally, for which they were never compensated.

Finally, and probably most importantly, Sharon has stated that along with Gaza disengagement will come consolidation of control over the West Bank, where the majority of Palestinians still live. The settlements here will not be dismantled, but will be allowed to expand "naturally." The illegal expansion outposts are supposed to be destroyed according to a promise made to the Bush administration, but we have seen that this has not happened, and in fact, more are being built.

The roadblocks are supposed to be eliminated, but we have also seen that that is not happening. Israel continues to place more and more restrictions on freedom of movement for West Bank Palestinians, primarily through construction of the separation wall and of roadblocks. This effectively destroys any possibility of real economic life because Palestinians cannot get across borders for jobs or trade.

All of this is being done with the blessing of the Bush Administration, although at this point I don't believe that the Democrats would do much better, at least not according to what they say.

Most of what goes on here is done via negotiations with the U.S. government, because our aid makes up about 15-20% of their annual budget. Most Americans don't know enough about the situation here to effectively influence policymakers, even if they want to.

And so it goes. I do not foresee a successgul Gaza disengagement.