The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : TOWARDS A FREE GAZA

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Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005

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TOWARDS A FREE GAZA

WITH THE ISRAELI cabinet approving plans for the withdrawal of soldiers and settlers from parts of the Palestinian territories, the residents of these areas have reason to hope that they will soon have a fair measure of freedom. The cabinet vote on February 20 was the last formal step that needed to be taken as the Knesset had already endorsed the plan and voted funds for its implementation. From now on, the decisions to be taken will largely be administrative in nature. As laid down in the plan, Israel will begin to evacuate all civilian settlements as well as military bases inside the Gaza Strip by the middle of 2005. (A small military unit will remain to guard the Rafah border with Egypt.) A few settlements in the West Bank will also be dismantled at the same time. A compensation package has been drawn up and the process of identifying the beneficiaries has begun. Once started, the withdrawal is expected to be completed in about three months. If all goes well, the Gaza Strip will be free from an Israeli presence for the first time in 38 years. However, this does not mean the Palestinian Authority will be able to exercise control over this slice of territory in all spheres. The Zionist state will continue to have the final say on water resource management. It is also not likely to permit the Authority to make use of the Gaza airport and harbour. So long as these restrictions are in place, the Palestinians will not be able freely to move out of the Strip or develop their economic resources.

Israel appears to have recognised that peace efforts will make little headway if unemployment and poverty levels in the Gaza Strip remain as high as they are now. It has made tentative moves to mitigate this situation by lifting some restrictions on the employment of Palestinians. However, most of the Palestinians who worked in Israel until the outbreak of the intifada are unlikely to get back their jobs. Another measure taken by the Government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon can only add to the resentment over a lack of economic opportunities. While the boundary wall that runs along the flank of the West Bank was realigned on the orders of the Israeli Supreme Court, the changes were not for the better in all cases. The Sharon Government did comply with the Court's order that the wall should not cut off West Bank residents from their schools or means of livelihood. However, it carried out the realignment in such a way that large settlements remained on Israel's side of the wall. The Palestinians have reason to believe that Israel will try to keep possession of these large settlements, which together make up at least seven per cent of the West Bank, even under a final peace pact. During the negotiations held over the 1990s the Palestinians indicated they could give up small portions of the West Bank provided they were given land of equal extent and quality. There is no sign that Israel is holding out any such offer.

With the Palestinian militant organisations observing the ceasefire, Zionist extremists pose the strongest threat to the withdrawal plans. These elements who hold the view that any withdrawal from the occupied territories is an infringement of a religious edict might resort to violence if their campaign of protest proves ineffective. The Palestinian Authority has controlled the extremists on its side with a mix of political adroitness and firmness. Israel will now be called upon to demonstrate that it can reciprocate with positive action and gestures.

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