(Newsday) Aharon Klieman - Middle Eastern realities caution that, at most, Israel can hope to divest itself of all further primary responsibility over the Gazans. Yet any Israeli sense of relief is going to be conditioned by the Palestinian response in the supposedly liberated strip the morning after Israel's departure, once the boasting of a victory of arms over the Zionists and flag-waving end and the burdens of solidarity, self-rule, and security descend on the Palestinian Authority. "Disengagement" in the larger sense will in all likelihood prove little more than wishful thinking. For Israel, disentangling itself from Gaza may be one thing; separation from the Palestinians is quite another matter. The writer is director of the Abba Eban Graduate Program in Diplomatic Studies at Tel-Aviv University and a visiting professor at UCLA.
2005-08-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive