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Source: http://nationaljournal.com/rauch.htm
Israel's Sharon is Up to Something in Gaza. But What?
(National Journal) Jonathan Rauch - Sharon is a general, and when a general decides he is in for a long siege, he consolidates his lines. A long siege is what Israel must now prepare for. Israelis, the White House, and more or less all people with eyes in their heads now believe that, as David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy puts it, "So long as Yasser Arafat remains leader of the Palestinians, there is no hope for peace and no hope of partnership." By getting out of Gaza, Sharon can firm up his lines and redeploy his resources. More-defensible boundaries cannot exclude bombers entirely. Nor can they stop mortar shells and rockets. The Israeli army would continue to strike into Palestinian territory in both retaliation and pre-emption. There is no peace process. As Yossi Shain, the head of Tel Aviv University's government department, says, "A peace deal with a central authority that can command all the forces among the Palestinians is not attainable and is not likely to be established soon." So Israelis are digging in for a long wait. Americans may have to do the same.