[Peace-discuss] What's really happening with Sharon's "peace plan"

[Morton K.Brussel]

[A long talk, given in Paris, penetrating clouds of propaganda. mkb]

Sharon's Gaza Pullout: Not Gonna Happen!
Tanya Reinhart

We gather here at difficult times, when it seems that the Palestinian 
cause has been almost eliminated from the international agenda. The 
Western world is hailing the new "peace vision" of Sharon's 
disengagement plan. The day this plan passed in the Israeli Knesset 
(parliament) last week was hailed by Le Monde as a historical day. Who 
would pay attention to the two line news piece that on that same day, 
the Israeli army killed 16 Palestinians in Khan-Yunes?

It is pretty much known even in the West that Sharon's plan is not 
about ending the occupation. With regard to the Gaza strip, the 
disengagement plan published in the Israeli papers on Friday, April 16, 
specifies that "Israel will supervise and guard the external envelope 
on land, will maintain exclusive control in the air space of Gaza, and 
will continue to conduct military activities in the sea space of the 
Gaza Strip". In other words, the Palestinians will be imprisoned from 
all sides, with no connection to the world, except through Israel. 
Israel also reserves for itself the right to act militarily inside the 
Gaza strip. In return for this "concession", Israel would be permitted 
to complete the wall and to maintain the situation in the West Bank as 
is. The innovation in the Bush-Sharon agreement that approved this plan 
is that this is not a proposal awaiting the approval of the Palestinian 
people. Now the Palestinians are not even asked. It is Israel and the 
U.S. who are!
   determining the facts on the ground. Israel marks the land that it 
desires, and builds a wall on that route.

For those who oppose Israeli occupation, it is clear, then, that 
Sharon's disengagement is just a plan for maintaining the occupation 
with more international legitimacy. However, there is one 
presupposition shared in all discussions of this plan - that in the 
process, Sharon also intends to dismantle the settlements of the Gaza 
strip, and return the land they are built on to the Palestinians. I 
should say that had I believed this might happen, I would have 
supported the plan. The Gaza settlements, together with their land 
reserves, security zones, Israeli-only roads, and the military array 
protecting them, occupy almost a third of the strip's land, which is 
one of the most densely populated areas of the world. Had this land 
been returned to its owners, it would be a step forward. We should 
never forget that the Palestinian struggle is not only for their 
liberation, but for regaining their lands in the occupied territories - 
lands that Israel has been appropriating since 67. !
  As long as the Palestinians manage to hold on  to their land, under 
even the worst occupation, they will eventually also gain their 
liberation. Without land, what is at stake is not just their 
liberation, but their survival.

But what basis is there to believe that Sharon indeed plans to 
dismantle settlements at some point? Certainly not the content of the 
resolution passed by the Israeli Knesset on October 26 - the day that 
has been depicted by Israeli and virtually all Western media as a 
"historical" day with "dramatic" resolution. In fact, the Israeli 
parliament voted to approve "the revised disengagement plan", which was 
previously approved in another "historical meeting" of the Israeli 
Cabinet, on June 6, 2004. So it is appropriate to check what was 
actually approved at that Cabinet meeting.

Ha'aretz' ceremonial headlines on June 7 declared "Disengagement on its 
way". But here are the smaller letters in the body of the report:
     "At the end of a dramatic cabinet meeting yesterday, the government 
passed Ariel Sharon's revised disengagement plan, by a vote of 14-7, 
but the decision does not allow for the dismantling of settlements and 
the prime minister will have to go back to the cabinet when he actually 
wants to begin the evacuation process. ...The decision on the 
evacuation of settlements will be brought to the government at the end 
of a preparation period... [that] would end next March 1" ( Aluf Benn, 
Gideon Alon, and Nathan Guttmanm, Ha'aretz, June 7, 2004).
Elsewhere in that paper it is explained that " there was no approval of 
actual evacuations... A second government discussion would be held in 
this regard, 'taking into account the circumstances at the time' " 
(Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz, June 7, 2004). The only thing the Israeli 
government, followed now by the Israeli Knesset, have approved, then, 
is to have a discussion of the idea of dismantling Gaza settlements 
sometime next year. It was also decided that in the meanwhile, building 
and development in the Gaza settlements may continue: "The approved 
plan ensures 'support for the needs of daily life' in settlements 
slated for evacuation. Bans on construction permits and leasing of 
lands were also removed from the prime minister's proposal" (ibid).  
And indeed, on the ground, slots of land are still being leased (for 
ridiculously cheap prices) to Israelis who wish to settle in Gaza, and 
building permits are granted by a special committee appointed by the 
government in the same "dra!
  matic" meting on June 6.(1)

Still, none of these facts were registered in public consciousness. The 
actual content of the cabinet decision was reported only once - on that 
same day - and then disappeared from the papers that keep recycling the 
stories about its heroic significance. Precisely the same happened in 
the present round. The fact that the Knesset has only voted to approve 
"the amended disengagement plan" that contains no decision to dismantle 
settlements was reported in the Israeli media:
     Knesset members voting tonight on the disengagement plan have 
received a copy of the "amended disengagement law" the cabinet passed 
on June 6, plus appendices containing the principles of the plan and 
its implementation... According to the compromise negotiated at the 
time... the cabinet decision "contains nothing to evacuate 
settlements." To remove any doubt in this regard, the cabinet decision 
also states that "after the conclusion of preparatory work, the cabinet 
will reconvene to separately debate and decide whether or not to 
evacuate settlements, which settlements, and at what speed, in 
consideration of circumstances at that time. (Yuval Yoaz, Ha'aretz, Oct 
26, 2004)
But again, this information appeared only once or twice, buried 
underneath bold headlines that even compared Sharon to Churchill. This 
is how a myth is built.

Another test-case for how serious the evacuation intentions are is the 
issue of compensations for the evacuated settlers.  Since the cabinet's 
decision in June, many of the Gaza settlers began inquiring, directly 
or through hired lawyers, how and when they can be compensated.  Behind 
the noisy protest of the settlers' leadership, many are relieved to be 
able to finally leave, and are just waiting for the compensations.  
Anybody  intending seriously to evacuate them, would start by 
compensating first those who are ready to leave immediately, leaving 
only the ideological minority to be evacuated forcefully. Indeed, for 
five months, since the cabinet's decision in June, both the settlers 
and the Israeli public believe that this is about to happen  any moment 
now.  Again, a faith with no basis.  Special committees have worked 
with much publicity on every detail of the compensation plan.  Many 
believe this was finally approved by the Knesset on November 4. Only in 
the small lette!
  rs of what actually happened one can learn that the compensation law 
has passed only its preliminary first hearing (reading).  In principle, 
the second and third hearing could take place within few weeks, but it 
was clarified  in advance that the second reading will take place only 
after the government decides on actual evacuation, in March 2005, or 
later (Yosi Verter, Ha'aretz, Oct 8, 2004.)  Till then, no one will be 
compensated.  As Aluf Ben summarized this, "the Knesset will vote in 
the first reading of the Implementation of the Disengagement Plan Law, 
which authorizes the government to evacuate settlements and compensate 
those evacuated. Then there will be debates in the committees, and a 
second and third reading... and the law could be blocked at any stage" 
(Ha'aretz, Oct 27, 2004).

Outside Israel, the details of what was actually decided didn't even 
make it into the news once, and all that is repeated over and over 
again in the Western media is the propaganda produced by the Israeli 
political system - headlines from which one could infer that the 
dismantling of settlements is around the corner. Thus, the political 
debate around Sharon's plan concentrates only around whether it is good 
enough. The possibility that this is just another Israeli deceit does 
not even arise. And if you try to bring it up, you are perceived as 
having landed from the moon, as has happened to me in several European 
media interviews.

Deception and lies have been a corner stone in Israeli policy, brought 
to a new level of perfection since Oslo. While the world believed that 
Rabin promised to eventually end the occupation and dismantle the 
settlements, the number of Israeli settlers actually doubled during his 
rule. At the same time that Barak declared he intends to dismantle the 
Golan Heights settlements, in 1999, he actually poured money into their 
expansion. As Sharon promised to dismantle at least the illegal 
settlement posts in the West Bank, their number kept increasing. Still, 
none of this is ever remembered. Each new lie is received with welcome 
cheers by the Israeli peace camp, and by European governments. Since 
Oslo, every Israeli government knows that all it takes, to ease 
diplomatic pressure, is to come up with a new "peace plan".

The ritual repeats itself with each new "plan" of this sort. The 
crucial factor in convincing the world that this time "it is for real" 
is right wing protest. Of course when the government comes up with a 
new scheme of deception, the right wing and settlers believe it as 
well.  Rabin's deceit has cost him his life. The same threats are now 
being directed at Sharon. This is sufficient to convince the Israeli 
peace camp that Sharon is determined to dismantle settlements. Even 
serious anti-occupation thinkers write articles warning of the danger 
of "civil war" with the settlers (forgetting that for this to be even 
remotely possible, someone should try indeed to evacuate them first). 
The implication is almost unavoidable: In view of this coming civil 
war, Sharon is our leader. We should all unite behind him, against the 
dark forces in Israel.

Indeed, this massive Israeli propaganda works. Throughout the Western 
world, Sharon is now depicted as a messenger of peace, because he has 
declared that he is willing to evacuate some of the territories. All of 
a sudden, Sharon is viewed as the sane center of Israel, withstanding 
right wing pressure. The prevailing perception is that Israel is 
finally led by a man of peace, with a respectable determination to 
carry out painful concessions. And as long as this is the perspective, 
Sharon can do whatever he wants. The Israeli army terrorizes the Gaza 
strip. dozens of Palestinians are being killed, including children on 
their way to school, houses are demolished and agricultural land 
destroyed. At the time of operation "Defensive Shield" in the West Bank 
and Jenin refugee camp two years ago, there was substantial world 
protest. The last operation "Days of Penitence" in the Jabalia camp in 
the Gaza strip has hardly received any coverage. Backed by the U.S., 
Sharon is realizing w!
  ith frightening efficiency his long-standing vision of evicting the 
maximum number of Palestinians from their land. In the spirit of 
Orwell, it was even explained that one of the aims of "Days of 
Pertinence" is to "expand the security zones" around the Gaza 
settlements (namely to enlarge their lands, pushing more Palestinians 
out of these lands), in order to guarantee that when they are 
evacuated, it would not be "under fire". (Aluf Ben, Ha'aretz, Oct 4, 
2004). But Europe looks the other way, reassured of Sharon's new vision 
of peace.

These are difficult days, when Orwell seems to pale, compared to the 
power of present day propaganda, when it seems that the European 
governments are immovable in their support of Israel, no matter what 
crimes it commits; and the Palestinians are dying slowly, with their 
suffering not even being reported. But in such times, when governments 
are unwilling to impose international law, the people of the world can 
still take matters in their hands. Largely unreported, there is a 
growing on-going joint struggle of Palestinians, Israelis and 
internationals from the International Solidarity Movement, who stand 
daily in front of the army and the settlers in the Palestinian 
territories, in non-violent, peaceful protest, documenting the crime, 
protecting as much of the land as they can, and slowing down Sharon's 
massive work of destruction. For the first time in the history of the 
occupation, we are seeing joint Israeli-Palestinian struggle. Along 
with Israel of the army and the settl!
  ers, a new Israel-Palestine is forming.

The breathtaking scenery of the West Bank has been sliced up by the new 
roads that the rulers have built for their own exclusive use. Beneath 
them lie the old roads of the vanquished. There, on the lower level, is 
where the other Israel-Palestine treads. For almost two years, Israeli 
youths arrive in settlement buses and then make their way on foot and 
in Palestinian taxis among the checkpoints. They trek between the 
villages in groups or alone. Some sleep in the villages. Others will 
travel the same route the next day to reach the demonstration. 
Everywhere they go they are greeted with blessings and beaming faces. 
"Tfaddalu," the children in the doorways say, as if they had never 
heard of stone-throwing. All along the "seam line" in the West bank, 
along the root of the wall, the Palestinians have opened their hearts 
and their homes to the Israelis and internationals who come to support 
their non-violent resistance to the wall and the occupation robbing 
them of their land. T!
  hese days, hundreds of Israelis are going almost daily to the West 
Bank to protect the Palestinian olive harvest from the settlers, who, 
protected by the Israeli army, try to prevent the harvest.

What has brought young Israelis to stand with the Palestinians in front 
of the army is the conviction that there is a basic line of justice 
that must not be crossed, that there is a law that is higher than the 
army's laws of closed military zones: there is international law, which 
forbids ethnic cleansing, and there is the law of conscience. But what 
makes them return, day after day, is the new covenant that has been 
struck between the peoples of this land, a pact of fraternity and 
friendship between Israelis and Palestinians who love life, the land, 
the evening breeze. They know that it is possible to live differently 
on this land.

This daily struggle is our hope. It has become possible with the help 
of individuals from all over the world who come there to join the new 
form of resistance. They are facing harassment. Many are being stopped 
and deported, but they still keep coming. As long as more people come, 
even for a short time, as long as they are backed and supported by many 
others at home who could not join in yet, the struggle will go on, 
offering hope where governments fail.



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(1). E.g.: " Yesterday, press photographers were invited in to take a 
picture of the first session of the committee to deal with the 
construction in the [Gaza] settlements, headed by PMO Director General 
Ilan Cohen. The committee is meant to examine the issue of construction 
and other development projects in settlements that are designated for 
evacuation. Cohen says Sharon told him 'not to compromise over security 
needs'. Gaza Regional Council Chairman Avner Shimoni won approval for 
26 bullet-proofed buildings in Gush Katif. The new buildings are meant 
for residences, and school rooms are meant for Kfar Darom, Netzarim and 
Neveh Dekalim. So far, some 350 development projects have been 
submitted to the committee" (Aluf Benn and Nir Hason, Ha'aretz, July 
27, 2004).