has been involved in all sorts of crimes. Not to mention that he was corrupt on top of all that.
I will say his behavior since January has improved greatly, but sadly and tragically his legacy is alive and well in olmert and the body politic in Israel.
http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/sharon.shtmlI will not forgive Sharon not only for Sabra and Shatilia, 1982, but also
Qibya. 1953. Sharon then found international notoriety for his raid on Qibya, in the Jordanian-controlled West Bank in 1953. A Palestinian from Qibya had apparently infiltrated Israel and murdered a woman and her two young children. So, in what was neither the first nor the last example of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) employing the illegal practice of collective punishment, Unit 101 entered Qibya. A total of 45 homes were blown up, with their inhabitants still inside. Sharon claimed during the investigation that he had ordered the homes evacuated first, but his soldiers all denied that he had issued such an order. 67 civilians, again including women and children, were killed. The international community was outraged, but this was, apparently, the moment when Sharon first found favor in the eyes of David Ben-Gurion.
Settlements, after 1967It was during this period that Sharon greatly increased his patronage of the settler movement. The first settlements had cropped up shortly after the 1967 war. But it was the rise of Gush Emunim (Bloc of the Faithful) that really accelerated the settlement program. And one of the main reasons that Gush Emunim was so successful over the long term was because they had a very good friend inside the government in Ariel Sharon.
Sharon not only encouraged Jews to move to the settlements, but he also was the key figure in establishing the financial networks that brought funding from both the Israeli government and supporters all over the world to make the settlements a reality.
His legacy lives onThe tougher sell for Sharon was the plan for “unilateral disengagement.” In particular, it was difficult because that had been part of the platform held by his opponent in the last election, Amram Mitzna of Labor. For Sharon’s right-wing supporters, the results of that election meant that the Israeli public rejected that idea. But Sharon recognized that this was not the case, and began planning for a complete evacuation of Israeli settlements, military bases and all Israeli personnel from the Gaza Strip.
As far as the Palestinians, Sharon well understood that Gaza was not only horribly devastated during the intifada, but even before that was one of the most overcrowded and economically depressed places in the world. By refusing to work with the Palestinian Authority to coordinate the withdrawal, he undermined and humiliated Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The PA was already very weak in Gaza, and there was no possibility of any other group being able to control Gaza effectively. Sharon could feel quite confident that Gaza would encounter the serious problems that have accompanied de-colonization throughout the world.
More than this, Gaza is surrounded by its own separation wall, although in contrast to the barrier being built in the West Bank, few are aware of this fact outside of Israel and the Occupied Territories. Thus, Israel was able to mount surveillance equipment and remote-controlled weapons all around Gaza as well as completely restrict Palestinian movement in and out of Gaza. Only a rare show of strong intervention by the US even allowed for Palestinians to move in and out of Gaza at the south border with Egypt. Israel also maintained control over Gaza’s water and electricity supplies. All this, and Israel was able to declare their occupation of Gaza over, and all their responsibility for Gaza discharged.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
