Israel Matzav

The Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip was so unimpressed by Olmert's statement [to the foreign press that he planned to push forward with his convergence consolidation realignment surrender, expulsion and suicide plan in Judea and Samaria despite what is going on in Gaza. CiJ] that it did not even issue a formal response. It trusts that Olmert is still faithful to his plan, but it no longer thinks he has the power to execute it.

"I have no doubt that Olmert believes in realignment, but I do not believe the public and even the media would support it," council head Benzi Lieberman told The Jerusalem Post.

He is bolstered in that belief by the attack against realignment from [Shitreet], a member of Olmert's Kadima Party, as well as media commentators and polls showing a lack of approval for the plan.

Lieberman and other settler leaders said that all these things were evidence that public opinion had swung from a pro- to anti-withdrawal stance as a result of Hamas's attacks against Israel from Gaza over the last month.

The Israeli public had been influenced by recent events, "but Olmert has not learned anything from them. His attitude is irresponsible," said Lieberman.

The gap between the facts on the ground and Olmert's statements was so obvious that the prime minister was doing enough damage to the plan on his own, Lieberman said, and there was no need for the council to comment.

Hey Bentzi? Forget for a minute that we live in a country where one third opposes giving the Arabs anything, one third wants to give the Arabs everything and one third vascillates from day to day depending on which way the wind is blowing and what they had for breakfast. But remember how the "opposition in the Likud" was going to stop Sharon? Remember how Sharon agreed to abide by the result of a Likud referendum, and then ignored it when it went against the Gaza disengagement surrender and expulsion plan? Just because Olmert isn't as polished a politician as Sharon was, what makes you think he can't do the same thing? And unlike Sharon, who was doing this out of expediency to keep himself and his sons out of jail, Olmert is a true believer in giving the country away to the Arabs, having been converted by his leftist wife and children.

It's not just Bentzi Lieberman who thinks the fight is over. He was just the first and the most prominent one that the Jerusalem Post quoted. Tzvika Bar-Hai, head of the South Hebron Hills Regional Council is quoted similarly. And the Council even pats itself on the back:

Either way, settler leaders acknowledged that their 'wait-and-see' attitude, adopted after the right-wing parties lost the March election in favor of a left-leaning centrist bloc, had paid off.

In the aftermath of the elections, the council decided that it had time to regroup and work on a campaign against realignment that would be tailored to events as they unfolded.

Settler leaders said that the Kassam rockets that Palestinians launched from Gaza into Sderot and Ashkelon, as well as Hamas's kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, had helped them prove the point that further withdrawals would be dangerous.

Everyone in Israel now understood that if parts of Samaria were given to the Palestinians rockets would be launched against the cities of Kfar Saba and Ra'anana, said Binyamin Regional Council head Pinhas Wallerstein.

I would not bet on that. This country has a massive affliction of NotInMyBackYard syndrome. Here in Jerusalem, we watched Gilo get shot at from Beit Sahour for months on end, yet no one is saying a word about Olmert's plan to divide Jerusalem. People need graphic reminders again and again and again that the same Kassams that are reaching Ashkelon from Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun can reach Netanya (not 'just' Kfar Saba or Ra'anana) from Tulkarm. And how many Israelis would be willing to trust the 'Palestinians' again today (let alone six months or a year or two years from now) if Hamas agreed to a 'cease fire' or if they held new elections and elected Fatah? And who says Olmert will listen to public opinion? He won the election after having warned everyone that the election was the referendum about his plan. You guys in Yesha may want to forget that but some of you stayed home that day.

Bar-Hai said the council needed to campaign against realignment even so, as it remained a threat - just a less ominous one. "I am not panicked, but I'm not calm," he said.

Don't panic Zvika. But don't be so calm either. The fight is just beginning.