I hate to say it, but this may be the only path remaining
I have been, shall we say, less than impressed with Israel's efforts toward resolving the whole Palestinian mess. It's really hard for me to see how you can hold someone responsible for controlling folks when
- You've destroyed their capability to do so
- You don't have such good control over your own crew
Sharon Threatens to Impose Split on Palestinians
By RICHARD BERNSTEIN
HERZLIYA, Israel, Dec. 18 — Israel will impose a security plan that will separate Israelis and Palestinians if the Palestinians fail to move quickly toward a negotiated peace, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said here in a speech on Thursday.
"If, in a few months, the Palestinians still continue to disregard their part in implementing the road map," he said, referring to the peace plan promoted by the Bush administration, "then Israel will initiate the unilateral security step of disengagement from the Palestinians."
Mr. Sharon reaffirmed his belief that the peace plan, which would lead to a Palestinian state by 2005, remained the best available option. And he said Israel would move to ease conditions for Palestinians and to dismantle illegal settlements, without linking it to immediate Palestinian moves.
But, he said, if the Palestinians did not at some point move "to uproot the terrorist groups and create a law–abiding society," he would pursue a disengagement plan, which would give Palestinians less land and preserve more Israeli settlements.
The Bush administration reacted coolly to Mr. Sharon's statement.
"The United States believes that a settlement must be negotiated, and we would oppose any effort — any Israeli effort — to impose a settlement," said the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan. "Unilateral steps can help the road map move forward if they are part of the road map, or can block the road map. It depends on what they are."
Specifically, Mr. Sharon said, the plan would involve a pullback of the Israeli Army to what he called "a new security line" and the withdrawal of some settlements from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in order to "reduce as much as possible the number of Israelis located in the heart of the Palestinian population."
While Mr. Sharon has hinted over the past few weeks that he was considering taking unilateral steps, his speech represented the first time he had expressed a willingness to dismantle settlements without a comprehensive peace agreement.
