Shachor: IDF has to be present in Gaza
You can add former IDF general Oren Shachor to the list of people who now realize that expelling all the Jews from Gaza was a mistake. Shachor held a number of key positions in the IDF and in the political echelon before he retired in disgrace for leaking information to help then-Labor leader Shimon Peres and Meretz leader Yossi Beilin in 1997.As Coordinator of Government Activities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza during the mid-90's, Shachor held a top position on negotiating teams with Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority - especially regarding the Hevron Agreement [which was concluded by the Netanyahu government, something which Bibi's supporters would like to forget. CiJ]. He apparently misused his power; it was learned in late 1996 that he had leaked information on the negotiations to Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin - two leading opposition left-wing Knesset Members. As a result, Shachor was ultimately forced to resign from the army.Shachor was interviewed by Arutz Sheva's Uzi Baruch alongside the Herzliya Conference today. Here's what he had to say [if the embedded video works. If not, you can find it at the link above. CiJ]:
In August 1997, Shachor reportedly toyed with the idea of joining the far-left Meretz party, but in the end announced that he was joining the Labor Party, just to the right of Meretz. His left-wing positions included support for the formation of a Palestinian Authority industrial park near Jenin, in close proximity to Jewish communities in the Shomron - in opposition to the Ministries of the Interior, Industry and Trade, and the Environment.
However, he took a hawkish view against the PA's violation of its Oslo obligations, and often said - at times of increased Arab terrorism - that military activity was preferable to negotiations. In June 2002, for instance, he said that Israel had no choice but to take over and remain in PA-controlled areas. "This is the only way to prevent the sprouting up of a new terrorist infrastructure," he told Arutz-7. "It is especially easy for them to prepare suicide attacks [if we are not there]; it's obvious that this is so... I'm sure we can convince the U.S. of the importance [of such a step], and even if we can't convince the Europeans, they will have complaints against us in any event, so it doesn't matter. We have to worry first and foremost about our own security."
In May 2004, during a military offensive in Gaza, Shachor said, "Even if there is a disengagement [withdrawal from Gaza] next year, we will have to enter Gaza and put things into shape. The disengagement will not stop terrorism..."
What Shachor doesn't say but apparently believes is that the IDF will have to stay in Gaza.
Someone please remind me why we expelled all those Jews from their homes in the first place and assure me that we are not going to try this again.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:55 PM
2 Comments:
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Carl - the idea behind Disengagement was to separate Jews from Arabs and wall off the Arabs from the rest of Israel. As Moshe Ya'alon has said, it did not go all the way. It is not Disengagement when the Arabs rely on Israel for fuel, electric power, food and other basic necessities. These are all things the Arabs can and should provide for themselves. I thought and still think uprooting the Gush Katif communities was a disaster.
But I also think if Israelis want to go along the road they have chosen, they should cut off all assistance to the Arabs. Disengagement carried to its logical conclusion should be ending Arab entanglement with Jews so the Arabs are over there and the Jews are over here.
At least that is how Ehud Barak once put it. Continuing to supply the enemy is not complete Disengagement.
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