Let's not get mired in Gaza

[Classical_Liberal]

Let's not get mired in Gaza

By Ze'ev Schiff



The incident on Wednesday in Rafah, in which an Israeli tank killed eight Palestinian civilians with its shells, including children and innocent demonstrators, is another reminder that the Gaza Strip is a quagmire. The strategic directive that mustn't be forgotten is: Make sure not to get mired in Gaza. Of course, we have to be even more careful when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz declare publicly that, in any case, Israel will not remain in the Gaza Strip.



The operational needs in the Gaza Strip are deceptively tempting. There will always be a reason found to penetrate further into Gaza to achieve a more important operational target. And suddenly we find ourselves in the quagmire. These are not huge areas, desert steppes or deep snow. The quagmire in the Strip are the 1,400,000 Palestinians who are spread out in refugee camps in terribly crowded conditions. This number will increase quickly in view of the young population. In about a decade, say the demographers, the population will reach about three million. Palestinian leaders say that when they take over, there will be no way to avoid transferring population to the West Bank.

There is very little chance of finding an ordinary solution to the problem of the Gaza Strip. Israel must distance itself from the quagmire at any price, and at least release the only reserves of land, which are in Israeli hands......

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/430227.html