Israel’s big mistake

When Ariel Sharon announced that his government was going to remove Jewish settlers from Gaza, I was all for it. I thought that peace would come soon. Most of the Israeli public agreed with me. We were wrong.

Since the disengagement, Sderot and other towns in Israel’s south have been bombarded with Qassam rockets courtesy of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Opinion polls show that Israelis now believe that little has been achieved by Israel’s gesture. Israel gave the Palestinians a sizable amount of land, and they responded by slapping Israel in the face, using rockets against civilians and kidnapping Gilad Shalit.

Former Prime Minister and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu hit the nail on the head with his remark; “Sharon gave and gave and gave, the Palestinians got and got and got, and my question is, what did we get? Nothing and nothing and nothing.” It was downright irresponsible for Ariel Sharon to just hand over Gaza without setting some conditions.

Sharon should have ordered that Hamas and Islamic Jihad members be expelled or arrested prior to disengaging. Israel is still providing power to the Gaza Strip, because the Palestinian Authority is too corrupt and disorganised to build its own infrastructure.

It is ridiculous that Olmert is sitting on his ass while Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev are being held hostage. The Israeli Government cannot, and should not, negotiate with terrorists. They are not rational people, it is impossible to negotiate with them. In exchange for one person, Hamas leaders usually demand that Israel release 100’s of terrorists.

Israel must act immediately to stop the wave of terror in Gaza. The IDF has more troops and superior equipment than Hamas and Islamic Jihad. If the terrorists will not stop firing Qassams, they should be stopped by force. If Hamas will not release Gilad Shalit, Israel must use force to bring about his release.