Il y a dix ans Ariel Sharon ordonnait le désengagement de Gaza... le résultat

Clifford D. May @ The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.  Extraits:

Ten years ago this summer then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to test the hypothesis that Israelis could trade “land for peace.” He ordered the evacuation of all Israelis from Gaza -- forcibly removing those who refused to quietly pack up and leave.

He hoped Gaza would thereafter become a peaceful place whose leaders would focus on economic development, education and health care. If that happened, the argument for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank would become compelling. But, he believed, if Gaza instead became a base for attacks on Israelis, they would be able to strike back hard – with the understanding and support of the international community.

Recall what followed: In 2007, Fatah and Hamas, the two major Palestinian political factions, went to war with one another other in Gaza. Fatah, led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, was the loser. Hamas soon began firing missiles -- thousands of them -- at Israeli villages. That led to wars with Israel in 2008 and 2012. Then, last summer, on top of missile attacks came the revelation that Hamas was building tunnels designed to infiltrate terrorists into Israel for the purpose of mass murder and hostage-taking. The result was an Israeli invasion of Gaza and 50 days of war.

And Mr. Sharon, it turns out, was wrong: Despite the fact that Israel was attacked and, as Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, put it, went to "extraordinary lengths to prevent civilian casualties,” many in the West – including in a UN report issued this week -- blame Israel as much or more than Hamas for the death and destruction suffered by the people of Gaza last summer.

Based on this experience, most Israelis fear that withdrawal from the West Bank would be disastrous. The power vacuum left behind soon would be filled by Hamas or the Islamic State or an al Qaeda affiliate or Hezbollah, Iran’s Lebanon-based foreign legion.