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Gaza Disengagement is about Defensible Borders for Israel

(Miami Herald) Ike Seamans - * Defensible borders. That's what Israel's fast-approaching Gaza disengagement is all about, contends Dore Gold, Israel's former UN ambassador and advisor to several prime ministers. ''It will need defensible borders during the coming months and for any future peace agreement with the Palestinians.'' * Israel's position is stated in Defensible Borders for a Lasting Peace, an informative study prepared by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Relevant points: o Gaza. After its takeover by Palestinians, Israel's vulnerability will increase, rendering defensible borders vital. o Jordan Valley. If turned over to Palestinians (as they and others demand), weapons from hostile countries could flow into West Bank hills overlooking Israeli population centers. The threat would be exacerbated if Jordan, Israel's eastern neighbor, were to be taken over by its huge Palestinian majority. o Original boundaries. If Israel reverts to them (as numerous protagonists insist), its size would shrink drastically, putting the nation's infrastructure at maximum risk, an easy target. Defensible borders - on Israeli terms - would create deep military buffer zones. o Security barrier. Stretching from north to south, it isn't a border. It is a temporary deterrent designed to thwart terrorist incursions, not neutralize sophisticated weapons or stop armies. o The report also argues that Israel's requirements don't compromise Palestinian territorial contiguity.
2005-07-29 00:00:00
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