(Baltimore Sun) David Makovsky - Senior PA officials have widely termed the Israeli pullout from Gaza to be a "victory" and have suggested this was accomplished through violence. But, in fact, there is an inverse correlation between terror attacks and Israel's willingness to withdraw. Contrary to what Hamas and others believe, violence makes Israelis less accommodating rather than more. They calculate risk and reward. When there was quiet and a chance for peace, Israel elected Labor leaders such as Yitzhak Rabin in 1992 and Ehud Barak in 1999. When bombs went off, Israel elected Likud leaders Yitzhak Shamir in 1988, Benjamin Netanyahu in 1996, and Ariel Sharon in 2001 and 2003. It's possible the Palestinians will learn the wrong lesson from Gaza and begin to use violence in the West Bank. But this strategy would be counterproductive, let alone morally wrong.
2005-08-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive