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Headlines : GovernmentIsraeli finance minister quits over Gaza move
Of course the source isn’t my favorite, but it is the first to post this dramatic event. Dramatic because the obstacles to peace between Israel and Palestine, and perhaps the entire Middle East, have been monumental at best. But when the leaders themselves fight against peace, we must be concerned, especially when ideas of “civil war” or “assasination” are rumoured to circulate. How hard do you hold on to something that’s not even yours?
“I am not prepared to be part of this irresponsible act that threatens the security of the Israel,” he wrote. Perhaps he’s forgotten the “Great Wall of Israel” which has effectively turned palestine into the world’s largest prison, but regardless, withdrawal is the right thing to do, and could be the biggest step towards peace we have ever seen.
[Posted By alpinestar]Republished from MSNBC
JERUSALEM – Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resigned from his post Sunday to protest next week’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, saying the plan will create a “base for Islamic terror” in Gaza.
Netanyahu, seen as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s biggest political rival within the Likud Party, submitted a letter of resignation during the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday. The resignation will take effect within 48 hours.
Netanyahu wrote that he cannot be part of what he described as a “process that ignores reality and proceeds blindly, creating a base for Islamic terror that will threaten the state.”
“I am not prepared to be part of this irresponsible act that threatens the security of the Israel,” he wrote.
Cabinet minister Matan Vilnai of the moderate Labor party said “it was very dramatic in there” when Netanyahu handed his letter to Sharon. The prime minister did not visibly react, Vilnai said.
After Netanyahu submitted his resignation, the Cabinet gave its final approval to the first stage of the Gaza pullout — the dismantling of the isolated Netzarim, Kfar Darom and Morag settlements. The vote was 17-5.
Israel plans to begin removing some 9,000 settlers from their homes, starting in days. All 21…
Posted by alpinestar
I have lived many lives in many countries. an alchemist on a constant quest for truth. my destiny is as of yet unclear, but i am still immature. i only want to learn as much as i can before i die. minimalism, naturalism and a few other isms define me ...
After the ’67 war Israel established the occupied territories as a ‘Buffer Zone’ around Israel. Regardless of your feelings about this, or whether it was a just or legal action, it was done to protect Israel from a land based attack from its neighbors.
The idea of was that in order to attack Israel with tanks and armies, Israel’s enemies would have to cross a zone filled with non-Israeli residents. Using war to take over foreign territory and colonize it is against the Geneva protocols, but Israel’s aim was not to colonize. After all, the buffer only provides security to Israel if there are non-Israelis living there.
In the mid Eighties the Israel expansion of ‘settlements’ in the occupied territories increased dramatically. These ‘settlers’ displaced native landowners and often had the de facto backing of the Israeli military. Each ‘settler’ in the occupied territory undermines the security of Israel. The settlements destroy the value of the buffer around Israel. Each and every ‘settler’ displaces a legitimate landowner, resulting in more opposition for Israel on the world stage.
The colonization of the occupied territories by the ‘settlers’ also is in opposition to the Geneva protocols, giving Israel’s enemies more justification for their actions against Israel, and undermining Israel’s standing in the World.
The people of Israel have a great deal of sympathy for the ‘settlers’, and seem to have created an old-west mythos around them. Israel must take a strong stand against the settlements, and inform the people of Israel how the settlements threaten the security of Israel, and are an insult to the heroes of the ’67 war. Israel must work to change the hearts and minds of its own people, before a few greedy land grabbers, hiding behind the banner of patriotic fervor, manage to destroy a major link in the chain of security for Israel.