In the end, Ariel Sharon got his way. His Cabinet yesterday gave his Gaza withdrawal plan the green light. Also yesterday, an Israeli court sentenced Palestinian activist Marwan Barghouti to five consecutive life sentences, effectively ending the man’s political career and maybe even his life.
Victory No. 1 for Sharon almost did not happen. While he won by a comfortable majority, it did not come easy. The plan initially received a resounding no vote by Likud Party members. It could have been buried forever had it gone to a Cabinet vote the first time last Sunday. Instead, Sharon, sure of defeat again, postponed the vote, in the meantime firing two hard-line Cabinet ministers of the National Union Party in order to ensure a one-vote majority. What followed was worthy of a good sitcom: One of the ministers decided to play hide and seek to avoid being presented with a letter of dismissal so that he would still be allowed to vote.
Yesterday, it seemed that the vote would be postponed for another few days to give the Supreme Court time to assess the constitutional legality of the ministerial farce.
To get where Sharon and the plan are today, the premier was forced to water it down. Under a compromise, while the Cabinet approved the withdrawal by 2005, it did so only in principle; it will not vote on the actual dismantling of settlements until March.
The compromise persuaded three Likud ministers, including Sharon’s most feared opponent, Benjamin Netanyahu, to vote for the plan which means that for the first time in Israel’s history it could down settlements — 21 in Gaza and three in the West Bank. The pullout from Gaza could also be one of history’s biggest ruses, one to strengthen Israel’s hold on large West Bank settlement blocs covering an area much bigger than the hard-to-defend and largely valueless Gaza Strip, and with many times more Jewish residents.
While the Palestinians would welcome a pullout from any of the land they seek for a state, the withdrawal from Gaza should be just the first stage of a much wider pullout, from all Palestinian land. It is supposed to be the beginning, not the end.
Putting Barghouti behind bars forever was Sharon’s victory No. 2. The conviction came as no surprise, but what has been accomplished? Barghouti was already admired for his uncompromising call to fight the occupation. His sentencing will make him even more of a hero. What Israel has done is gain a martyr.
But Barghouti was also a pragmatist who believed in Oslo. Yesterday, Israelis who are seriously interested in peace lost a man they could have done business with. Sharon, while he might leave Gaza, still has an uphill struggle ahead persuading the Palestinians that they can do business with him.
