Vulnerable Israeli Homefront Rethinks Withdrawals

[AP] Aron Heller and Matti Friedman - As Arab rockets reach ever deeper into Israel, they may be weakening what for years has been a cornerstone of Mideast peace efforts - an exchange of land for peace. Some Israelis have long warned that any territories Israel vacates will be used to attack it. At least one-tenth of the country's 7 million citizens and some of its largest cities are now in range of Gaza missiles, and millions more live within reach of Hizbullah rockets from Lebanon. This has implications for the West Bank, where U.S.-led diplomacy long focused on a withdrawal that would make way for a Palestinian state at peace with Israel. Israeli opponents of this strategy argue that such a peace would be too fragile to survive, and would bring Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the nation's international airport within rocket range.


2009-01-02 06:00:00

Full Article

BACK

Visit the Daily Alert Archive