It is utterly depressing to see wishful thinking replace common sense in the current Israeli government.
Is there any actual indication that Abbas will be any more "peaceful" than Arafat? For every "pragmatic" statement that gets trumpeted in the Western press, he makes three statements completely consistent with the desire for the destruction of Israel. Since when is someone who denies the Holocaust, insists on all of Jerusalem, and praises suicide bombers a "moderate?"
Is there any actual indication that abandoning Gaza will make things more peaceful? Hamas isn't saying anything of the sort. Israel will have to de facto occupy all the areas that they plan to abandon to keep rockets out of southern kibbutzim. And for this we are uprooting Jews, dismantling synagogues and moving cemeteries?
Historically, Israel has gained respect most when she looked after her own interests. Sure she was criticized in 1967, when she bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor, even after Entebbe. But has the criticism lessened any since Sharon started his appeasement policy? On the contrary - Israel is more reviled than ever. And now she no longer has the moral authority of protecting her own citizens, weakening her further and placing her at the mercy of the EU and UN who are so anxious to impose a solution. If Israel is losing her own desire to defend herself and ignore the world, G-d help us all.
And it all seems to be based on the same sort of wishful thinking that produced the fruits of Oslo, of over a thousand innocents killed.
-EoZ
