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Disengagement's Architect

(Jerusalem Post)David Horovitz - Brig.-Gen. Eival Gilady, until recently the head of the IDF's Strategic Planning Division, two years ago initiated what Ariel Sharon came to adopt as his disengagement plan. According to Gilady, the assessment that the prospect of peace and economic improvement for the Palestinians would reduce the motivation for terrorism proved false. The logic behind the concept of separation is the reverse of the Oslo mind-set. Rather than peace bringing security, it aims for security to ultimately yield peace. "The whole vision of the security fence and disengagement is based on the premise that no final-status agreement is feasible," at least not in the foreseeable future. For now, "we'll separate." Gilady spent long hours negotiating with some of the younger Palestinian leaders and believes they have a different mind-set from that of Arafat. He named Kadoura Fares, Hassan Asfur, Muhammad Dahlan, and Jibril Rajoub. "Some say [Marwan] Barghouti," he added. "I say no." Gilady was adamant that Arafat's malevolent positions, rather than any Israeli failures, doomed the efforts by Abu Mazen last year to begin a process of reform. He said that Abu Mazen has learned "that support from the U.S. and Israel is not enough. He needs domestic support." Abu Mazen and those around him "underestimated their ability to act last time....The armed groups are waiting to see how they are going to act. If those groups see that it's business as usual, they'll be emboldened." Gilady recalled that, last year, Abu Mazen expended 100% of his efforts trying to negotiate with Hamas and the other terror groups, and 0% trying to thwart the terrorism. With Arafat gone, Gilady indicated that the disengagement plan would be carried out with greater coordination with the PA. But "there won't be direct talks - negotiation - on the terms of the pullout....There's some indirect and some direct coordination already. There's high-level coordination and there's coordination in the field."
2004-12-02 00:00:00
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