It’s hard to believe four years passed since Sharon declared a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. Nehamia Shtrasler does an excellent job at summing up the disastrous consequences:
The evacuation could have been handled differently. It could have been used to enhance the status of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but Sharon didn’t agree to speak with him. He didn’t allow Abbas to gain any advantage from it and carried out the evacuation in an arrogant and unilateral manner, even though Abbas is the most moderate Palestinian leader ever.
At a meeting of the Kadima party leadership a few months after the disengagement, Sharon confidant Dov Weissglas said: “We will put the Palestinians on a diet, but not make them die of hunger.” Everyone present burst into laughter. But when the Palestinians discovered that Abbas hadn’t managed to ease the suffering and that there was no chance of a normal life on the horizon, they opted for a more extreme leadership – Hamas.
And let’s not forget Sharon’s heavy hand in helping found Hamas.
Tags: Hamas