Today’s big news in Israel is that the Knesset approved the Gaza withdrawal plan by a 67 to 45 vote, with 7 abstentions. A large minority of Likud MK’s voted against Sharon, and the plan was carried by the left. I’ll defer to more knowledgable sources like Robert Rosenberg to explain the internal politics. When Sharon first announced the plan, some of us suspected that it was just a ploy to bury the Geneva Accord and gain U.S. approval for keeping the settlements on the West Bank. And. indeed, a couple of weeks ago Sharon’s advisor and confidant Dov Weisglass, who was probably the architect of the disengagement plan, let on that this was exactly correct. But the plan seems to have taken on a life of its own, splitting Likud, creating divisions within the settler movement, and also precipitating a power struggle within the Palestinian leadership. I believe the Israeli left, as well as the Palestinian leadership, is supporting the plan conditionally - not because it is sufficient in itself, not because the conflict can be solved by unilateral action, certainly not because they accept Sharon’s motives - but because it is a start. The final borders of Israel and Palestine need to be defined by negotiation. The hope is that disengagement can be hijacked from Sharon, and steered in the direction of a peaceful solution.
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