[TOI_Billboard] ...but what will become of the West Bank? - [TOI_Billboard] Archives at Zinester. Society & Culture

This week: What is to become of the West Bank?

While the attention focused on the Gaza-pull-out spectacle four Palestinians on the West Bank pay with their life. The symbolism seems inevitable: the Gaza Palestinians may after all have something to celebrate, but for the West Bank Palestinians signs don't bode well. The frustrated religious-nationalist settler who murdered his Palestinian fellow workers was sharply condemned, even by his own family, but there was also a bearded settler explaining on camera that this was not a terrorist: "a terrorist is somebody who kills Jews..." (Tomorrow, Sunday, a delegation of Israeli peace activists will come to Sanjil Village to pay a condolence visit to the family of Basam Awni, with 30 years the youngest of the four killed.)

This week was also a week of intensive anti-Wall struggles of Bil'in villagers and the youthful Israeli volunteers - not so much to attract media attention, which it didn't, as to make it less likely for the occupation forces to create even more facts while the attention is elsewhere. And preparations are made for a concerted effort the coming week http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=7290

Meanwhile, the topic on everybody's tongue: who deserves the most sympathy, the soldiers or the settlers. People are not open for the question whether such a pull-out could have been done differently. The 1962 de Gaulle example - just publishing a notice when the army would withdraw; and letting a million settlers take care of themselves - this does not appeal to average Israelis as a realistic alternative.

You find here our selection of Israeli media comments, followed by two more fundamental comments of Palestinian commentators, and finally a surprising analysis by Tanya Reinhart.

Myth of settlers' organizational capabilities proven false

Ofer Shelah

Thursday,18 August

The first day of the forced evacuation made two things clear. The fast pace of the evacuation relies on the fortitude of the operational forces, especially when they decide to work together, while on the other hand, the false nature of the illusion nurtured consciously by Gush Katif leadership of an organized, powerful resistance.

full article http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3129570,00.html

The settlers' mission - to bring tears to the eyes of the officers

Yuval Yoaz

Tue., August 16, 2005

Colonel Erez Zuckerman, Golani brigade commander, was prepared for some penetrating conversations with settlers before handing out the evacuation orders. But he could hardly have imagined how intensive these talks would be.

full article http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/612937.html

Their finest hour

Haaretz Friday editorial, Friday, August 19

"At this critical juncture, the IDF and the police proved their capabilities. This was one of the finest hours of the men and women in uniform, the operational arms of the State of Israel."

full article http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/614828.html

Winning the war for hearts and minds

Orit Shochat

Fri., August 19, 2005

Some will say that democracy won through the use of well-trained officers. Some will say that the ease with which Gush Katif was evacuated shows that any settlement can be evacuated with a determined political leadership. Others will say the whole thing was a carefully constructed show from the start: The settlers knew the withdrawal was a done deal and let their youth let off some steam. They wanted to be portrayed as patriotic on the one hand, but were distressed over the collapse of their entire world on the other. The leaders were divided into those who called for resistance and those who opposed it. Sometimes both sides were embodied in a single individual.

full article http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/614606.html

Make sure 'Gazafirst' is not 'Gazalast
Mustafa Barghouthi - International Herald Tribune
August 19, 2005

(...) To become agents of our own destiny, Palestinians must follow three steps. The first is to call for an international peace conference like the one held in Madrid in 1991. This will end the political freeze that Sharon is trying to impose. It will open for discussion critical issues such as the East Jerusalem settlements, final borders and the rights of refugees. It will engage the international community in the negotiations, which Israel has long sought to prevent. And, most important, it will re-establish international law as the basis by which the Palestinian/Israeli conflicts must be solved.
The second step is to take the International Court of Justice ruling that Israel's Wall is contrary to international law to the United Nations and demand that the ruling be enforced by nonviolent means such as sanctions until Israel complies.
Finally, the nonviolent struggle against the Wall and settlements must continue in Palestine and around the world in order to maintain strong grassroots and civil society pressure against Israel's illegal policies.Today we and all who have stood with us in our struggle for peace and freedom celebrate the removal of illegal settlements from Gaza. But we must remain vigilant in order to harness the momentum of this process and take it to its logical conclusion - a sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi was a candidate in the Palestinian presidential elections in January

full text http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/18/news/edbarghouthi.php

Mideast Peace Requires Withdrawal From Unilateralism
By Daoud Kuttab
August 19, 2005

(...) To be fair, a go-it-alone approach is convenient not only for an Israeli prime minister reluctant to make substantial compromises during negotiations, but also for hardline Palestinians who see multilateralism as a means of forcing them into adopting unpopular positions. Combating the unilateralist tendencies among segments of Palestinian society will be just one of our tasks as we focus on rebuilding our lives and our future.

full text http://forward.com/articles/3834 (accessible for nonsubscribers, but you have to register )
also in http://www.geocities.com/toi_billboard/Forward_Kuttab.htm

How we left Gaza
Tanya Reinhart
Yediot Aharonot, August 18, 2005 - translated from Hebrew by Edeet Ravel

[Tanya Reinhart comes up with a rather unexpected theory`why we left Gaza' which causes this generally skeptical political analyst to conclude that "maybe we will be forced to pull out of the West Bank as well." ]

(...) in early 2005, the wheels began to turn the other way. The United States was sinking in the mire of Iraq incurring defeats and casualties. Iran, which after the war with Iraq was ready for any terms of surrender, drew encouragement from Iraq??�s resistance and from its ties with the Shiite militia. The oil agreements with China gave a boost to its economy and its status. Suddenly the possibility of an attack on Iran didn??�t seem as certain. It turned out that even the most advanced weapons may not suffice to bring to their knees entire regions which the U.S. was eyeing. In the meantime, support for Bush had sunk to under forty percent and after each world terrorist attack, one heard the paired words, Iraq and Palestine. Bush will not give up on Iraq so fast. But the headache of Palestine, he really doesn't need.
full translation http://www.geocities.com/toi_billboard/Reinhart.htm

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