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Posted on 04/11/2005 6:01:47 PM PDT by wagglebee
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip may resort to "civil war" when the Jewish state orders a pull-out of the region altogether later this summer.
In an interview with NBC News, Sharon – in Crawford, Texas Monday for talks with President Bush – said point-blank he expects settlers to rebel "before and during" the withdrawal.
"One should not underestimate the tension here, the atmosphere here. It looks like on the eve of a civil war," he told the network.
The danger is so grave, in fact, that Sharon says for the first time, he has security in place to keep him alive.
"All my life I was defending [the] life of Jews," he said, in reply to a question of whether he feared for his own life. "Now, for [the] first time, security steps are taken to protect me from Jews."
The White House, NBC News reported, says the Gaza withdrawal is vital to building a lasting peace in the region. But the Jewish settlers aren't eager to abandon their homes, as well as land they believe rightfully belongs to Israel.
And, Sharon's government is adding on to other Jewish settlements, another sore point for the administration – especially, NBC News reported, "in the sprawling settlement known as Ma' aleh Adumim."
The Bush administration believes that is "a direct violation" of Washington's demand to halt such construction. But Sharon shrugged off the question.
"We don't build any new Jewish communities. We don't build there," the Israeli leader told NBC. When pressed about plans for new houses, Sharon said, "People live there. There are no new communities that are built or added. Arabs live everywhere, Jews live everywhere."
Israel Ping
IMO, Israel's as close to civil war as we were during the election. But it sells newspapers
I will never understand why any Israelis would desire to live in Gaza. And I don't believe that Israel is on the verge of a civil war either, but I do think that Sharon may be forced into retirement in the very near future.
It's not the newspapers, SJackson. This is the Prime Minister himself who is saying this.
Israel may not be close to Civil War (and I for one don't believe that it is), but it is not the newspapers that are drumming this up. It is the government trying to delegitimize those who oppose the Prime Minister's policies.
In the 1960s things were very primitive in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. The average rational Westerner at that time would not have understood why anyone would desire to live there either. Zionism has involved settling the land and making the desert bloom. What the Jews in Gaza are doing, in my opinion, is nothing less than what the Jews did in the Arava or elsewhere in Mandatory Palestine and then in Israel in the 1920s-1960s.
I know, it's politics. He's taking what's becoming an unpopular action to many Israelis. Sharon was in charge of the dismantling of the Sinai settlements. He knows some level of force will be necessary. In this instance to protect the displaced as well. IMO, he's preparing for it. Any violence will accrue to the "right wing radical settlers", who he encouraged to move to Gaza and Samaria in the first place. Fortunately his farm isn't there.
I agree, but in the 1960's the Israeli Defense Forces were very methodical about rooting out the terrorists and doing their best to insure the settler's safety -- that no longer seems to be the case.
Why not? The government encouraged them. They've established prosperous communities. The only problem are the rabid neighbors. How were they to know that not only the world, but their government, wouldn't take their side.
Road Map to Hell
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!"
Both Christians and Jews are commanded
So I'm forced to pray for our leaders
To quit giving in
To our implacable foes
And what they have demanded
It's a one-way street to hell
This 'road map to peace'
That leads to the lair
Of a ravenous beast...
EV
Not the 60s, pre 49 or essentially post 79. The IDF has done a good job there. It's not their failure, rather a political cost/benefit equation. As Americans, we should be embarassed we're coming down on the side of creating a(nother) racist state.
Which is exactly why I think Sharon and many in his cabinet may be unemployed very soon.
If Mexico really wants California back, I know several people who would be happy to let them have it.
Shrugged off the question? Sharon continues to scorn our President, while his spies continue to infiltrate our most secretive information.
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What, what, WHAAAAT!!!
"Sharon continues to scorn our President, while his spies continue to infiltrate our most secretive information."This is total stupid"mjtobias"!!!Izrael is very strong good friend America this is why"Alouette"write"What, what, WHAAAAT!!!"Thank you"Alouette"Thank you"mjtobias"
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