(New York Daily News) Richard Z. Chesnoff Sharon's plan is brilliant in its simplicity - a sort of uncontestable, one-way divorce. Unwilling to wait any longer for the Palestinians to stop terror and negotiate peace seriously, Sharon plans single-handedly to disengage Israeli forces from Gaza, withdraw the 7,000 Jewish settlers who currently live there, turn control of the desert strip over to the Palestinians, and begin to do the same in the West Bank by dismantling some Israeli settlements there as well. The Palestinians have a long history of rejecting Israeli offers, only to see the dream of peace, prosperity, and their own state recede farther over the horizon. This time, they should accept Sharon's plan not as an outrageous insult but as a great opportunity. Above all, they should remember that next time, the chances are that they'll be offered even less.
2004-04-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive