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Formulating Realignment While Sderot Reels

(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - Tory leader David Cameron asked Prime Minister Olmert in London last week a question that - in light of everything happening in Sderot and Gaza - is heavy on the minds of many Israelis: How will Israel be able to prevent similar Kassam attacks from the West Bank after realignment? The realignment plan is still very much a work in progress - intensive staff work on the plan hasn't even begun - and the plan's final form could very well be impacted by how things go now in the southern city of Sderot. The ceaseless pounding of Sderot, and the difficulty Israel is having dealing with it exclusively through the air, may very well have a real impact on the ultimate decision about where the army should redeploy. Olmert's advisers argue that security is not the only measure of success. They say that the future realignment needs to be judged by different parameters: whether it will improve Israel's demographic situation; whether it furthers the vision of a two-state solution; whether it improve Israel's international standing; whether it improve Israel's strategic relationship with the U.S.; whether it reduces friction and helps Israel separate from the Palestinians.
2006-06-23 00:00:00
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