| But what do these headlines really mean? One can easily assume that this means most Israelis dont want to give back any land and they are willing to resort to violence in order to stop Gaza from being returned to the Palestinians. But there is more to it than that. One has to understand what these Jewish settlers are really protesting. Most pullout opponents do NOT oppose the withdrawl because it will be giving land to the Palestinians. Israel's original intent for taking that land was not to put its civilians there but to secure its borders with Egypt and Jordan, and to negotiate that land back for peace.The problem that many Israelis have with the pullout is that it gives up land and doesn't guarantee peace in return. They also fear that the withdrawl will be percieved as a reward for terrorism to the Palestinian terrorists. When Israel made peace with Egypt in 1979, the settlers living in the Sinai had no problems evacuating the land, and the majority of Israelis were happy to exchange that land for peace. Many Israeli citizens living in the Golan say they would gladly give up their house and move somewhere else in Israel if it meant making peace with the Syrians. If Israel was to gain peace with the Palestinians or any of its Arab neighbors by disengaging from Gaza, most Israelis (excluding the ultra-nationalist Jews) would be more than thrilled to do it. So it is important while reading headlines of Israeli resistance to the pullout, to understand that its not the giving back land part that these Israelis have a problem with, its the not getting peace in return that makes many Israelis upset with the plan. |
