(Independent-UK) Donald Macintyre - Having come out in strong support of the plan to evacuate all 8,500 settlers from Gaza, former Shin Bet security services head Avi Dichter is Ariel Sharon's most potent weapon against the argument that withdrawal from Gaza is a "surrender to terrorism" and will increase rather than decrease attacks by Palestinian militants. Dichter argues that withdrawing from Gaza drastically reduces the "carpet of targets" open to militants in Gaza in the first place, and that "the probability to hit civilians or carry out successful terror attacks is going to decrease dramatically." He is optimistic that there won't be an organized outbreak of violence by Palestinian militants during the disengagement process and is skeptical that there will be after disengagement too.
2005-08-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive