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‘We will not abandon our weapons’ (Hamas)
The Israeli media labeled it ‘The Bubble.’ Those carefree partygoers in the heart of Tel Aviv, who during the difficult days of the withdrawal from Gaza, were pondering what alcoholic beverage to drink over a friendly chat about their new kitchen design.
It’s hard to gauge exactly how many Israelis and Palestinians were oblivious, or perhaps indifferent to the historic event unfolding before their eyes. But an educated guess would suggest they are a minority.
Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza clearly has a direct effect on thousands of people. The evacuees are concerned for their livelihood, their children’s education and their sense of security. Palestinians who depended on their neighboring Jewish employers to put bread on the table will also need to adapt to a new reality.
But the pullout also has wider implications for many Israelis and Palestinians who were not directly involved in the evacuation, and fear it will bring personal and economic hardships rather than prosperity and security.
On the eve of the withdrawal, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon addressed his nation, and expressed hope that the pullout will improve the situation of the impoverished Palestinians and will allow Israelis to focus on the country’s domestic and economic problems rather than on security concerns.
On the ground, however, civilians on both sides speak of their fears of what the future holds.
Major General Ya’akov Amidror, former chief of assessment in the Israeli army’s Intelligence Corps, vehemently opposes Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, also known as the ‘Disengagement Plan,’ and sees it as a reckless move.
“We have good reason to be pessimistic,” he says.
Amidror is concerned the unilateral withdrawal will increase terrorists’ motivation and ability to act against Israel, rather than dampen their enthusiasm.
The terror attack in Beer Sheva on August 28, a week after the withdrawal was completed, gives these doomsters a reason to say ‘I told you so.’
“It will bring more terrorist capabilities into the homes of too many Israelis,” Amidror says.
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(G.F. Photos)
In the short term, Gaza-based terrorists will not demonstrate their strength so as not to show they are “going wild,” Amidror contends. But beneath the surface, he says, the withdrawal will give them room to build up their military capability, especially since the authority and power of the security forces deployed in Gaza to clamp down on terrorists is unclear.
After the Beer Sheva bombing, Israeli officials stressed that the Palestinians have to act against terrorism.
Left-wing Member of Knesset (Israel’s parliament) Zehava Galon called the attack an attempt to damage future peaceful relations between Israelis and Palestinians. “Whoever carries out an attack is trying to inflame the area and sabotage the results of the disengagement,” she told the news portal Ynet.
But Amidror does not think the withdrawal will bring positive results.
“There is a potential of missiles reaching Ashqelon already the day after the withdrawal,” Amidror says.
Ashqelon, a town on Israel’s coast, houses 116,000 residents and is located a mere 13 kilometers, or eight miles, from the Gaza Strip.
The town was relatively quiet during the turbulent years of violence since September 2000, but after the withdrawal, its residents feel difficult times are ahead. The town’s proximity to Gaza’s new northern border, twinned with a projected increase in terrorist capabilities, might bring Ashqelon into rocket range.
The Palestinian Hamas organization has been responsible for launching hundreds of missiles on Jewish communities both inside the Gaza Strip and in pre-1967 territories.
Hamas says it will continue to fight Israel in “all the areas where the occupation exists,” including the West Bank and Jerusalem.
A graphic picture on the Hamas website illustrates this point by showing a masked Hamas member crouching behind a missile. “We will not abandon our weapons,” reads the slogan on the picture, which bears the Hamas logo.
Ashqelon’s municipality is cautious not to be too explicit in its preparations for the ‘day after the withdrawal’ so as not to cause a public panic.
The spokeswoman for the municipality says a warning system called Shahar Adom (‘Red Dawn’) has been installed in the city but downplays assumptions that the town is bracing for a shower of rockets.
“Ashqelon is prepared in every possible way and is constantly being drilled by the Home Front and the police for any situation, whether it’s a Qassam missile attack or an earthquake,” the spokeswoman says.
But residents of Ashqelon are well aware of the dangers lurking around the corner.
Edna Avrahami, principal of the Rotem elementary school in Ashqelon, says the school has been prepared for a potential missile attack since last year.
About 670 children attend Rotem, more than half of them immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia.
With assistance from the army and the local council, the school set up teams to prepare both students and staff for the worst. “Schoolteachers were trained and students were drilled several times last year for every scenario,” she says, adding that similar drills were also carried out on a community level in the neighborhood.
Avrahami says there were exercises in previous years, but they have now become more frequent.
“Because of Ashqelon’s physical proximity to Gaza, we couldn’t take the issue lightly,” she says.
“As a principal, I feel a very heavy responsibility on many matters and on this issue in particular,” Avrahami says. The staff is meeting before the school year begins to discuss with psychologists, guidance councilors and paramedical therapists how to deal with the possibility of missile attacks, as well as other issues related to the pullout.
Claudia (Gilly) Giat, a mother and a resident of Ashqelon, says she tries not to think about what will happen after the withdrawal. “You have to face things when they happen and not dwell on them before they happen otherwise you’ll never survive in this country,” she said.
But Amidror, who has become something of a raging prophet on the subject, believes there is no such thing as too much preparation. “The Palestinians have an interest to maintain quiet but in the long run I think that if Ashqelon invests in shelters it will be a wise decision,” he says.
Member of Knesset Yuval Steinitz agrees that the withdrawal will not improve the security situation. “We have a lot to worry about,” he says. “We can clearly see that all terrorist organizations are preparing a new round of violence for the future.”
Once the Palestinians build a seaport and an airport and the Egyptians are caught off guard, terrorists will also be able to employ Katyusha rockets with an increased range, Amidror says.
But a seaport and airport seems like a farfetched dream for Gaza citizens.
Palestinians in Gaza are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in years, but beneath the celebrations, there still lie concerns.
Zuheir Abu Awda is a resident of Gaza’s Al-Muwasi enclave and like Edna Avrahami, he is also a school principal.
“The withdrawal is an excellent step and the most important thing is that we can breathe an air of freedom without any restrictions,” he says. But he is not convinced of a rosy future. “All Palestinians are worried that Gaza will become a big prison…we’ve been closed in for a month now,” he says. “We’ve learnt our lesson not to be optimistic with the Israelis. We’re always pessimistic,” he says.
Iyyad A-Laham, a teacher and also a resident of Al-Muwasi voiced similar concerns. “We will be free and independent but there are many problems. We completely rely on Israel: our economy, our workers and marketing and the borders might be under the control of Israeli forces.”
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(G.F. Photos)
“Their fears are well-taken,” said Nigel Roberts, World Bank Director in the West Bank and Gaza. “With the current restrictions on movement, you do not have a platform for rigorous development. It is these conditions of movement restriction that have led to the tremendous compression in the Palestinian economy that characterizes the last four years.”
However, Roberts is well aware of Israel’s security concerns and admits that change is unlikely to happen overnight.
In order to have an operating seaport and airport in Gaza, Roberts says it is critical that a security protocol that works for Israel is put in place. “Otherwise it will be very difficult to envisage either of these facilities actually operating,” he says.
Palestinians are also concerned that Gaza will be a first and last step, and that no subsequent evacuation steps will be taken in the West Bank and in Jerusalem. This view has been voiced both in the Palestinian media and by senior officials.
According to recent statements, a further pullout is unlikely in the near future. At the height of the withdrawal, Sharon said during a cabinet meeting that “there is no second stage in the Disengagement Plan.”
Former head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency (Shin Bet) Ami Ayalon said he cannot vouch for a brighter future for Israelis and Palestinians after the withdrawal. “I cannot guarantee anything,” he said, but stressed that, “the people on both sides are the great power in the region,” and they are the driving power behind a peaceful future.
Ayalon has been outspoken in favor of the pullout, despite the fact that people with a similar intelligence background, such as Amidror, do not agree with his views.
He calculates that despite the security concerns, the withdrawal is worth the risks, providing it goes in a positive direction.
“If the Palestinians think that we left Gaza in order to create a huge jail for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and we are going on building settlements in the West Bank then we will not have security and Hamas will attack again,” he says.
If attacks continue, Ayalon contends, and the Palestinians are unable to control the situation, he does not rule out the possibility that Israel will reenter Gaza.
“Israel will do everything necessary in order to fight terrorism. In many ways it will be much easier from a military point of view because settlers will not be there,” Ayalon says. “It will be easier from an international point of view because we left Gaza. If terror continues, even the international community will approve our response.” The response, if it comes to that, will be “very violent,” he believes.
Another concern from the Palestinian perspective is that the lands being evacuated will be abused by officials or armed factions rather than put to good use.
Palestinian Housing Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said the evacuated land will be used for residential, agricultural and tourism purposes to benefit the Palestinian people and boost the economy. “We’re not restricting the movement of any person to these areas,” Shtayyeh said.
But Roberts said many Gaza residents are “very skeptical” about the Palestinian Authority’s (P.A.) intentions when it comes to distributing this land. He said it is critical that the P.A. plans this process in a transparent and open manner and makes the people of Gaza confident that their needs are being addressed and that the allocation process is “not being done under the table.”
“The P.A. is committed to securing and protecting the areas and ensuring that these unfortunate things don’t happen,” Roberts said.
“The first task is to secure the area so that there are no squatters. Once people come in and claim land and start to use it either for residential or for farming purposes, it becomes very difficult to evict them,” he added.
Senior Palestinian officials and the international community have praised Israel’s decision to evacuate Gaza. But on the ground, civilians feel there’s still a long way to go before they will live without worries.