Netanyahu's losing his way

[IndianaGreen]

Looks like Bibi didn't waste time to capitalize on Sharon's painful disengagement plan. What a jerk!

Netanyahu's losing his way

By Haaretz Editorial

Benjamin Netanyahu grabbed the opportunity, ahead of today's rally by the disengagement opponents, to try to demand at the cabinet meeting this week (on Sunday) that the people of the West Bank and Gaza be allowed to demonstrate "because protest is a basic right in a democratic state." His statement overflows with hypocrisy and pretense. After all, the heads of the Yesha Council themselves have repeatedly said that the event in question is not merely a demonstration but a plan to block the disengagement by means of exhausting the army and the police and a mass influx into Gush Katif - so that it will be impossible to implement the pullout. The intent is to undermine a government and Knesset decision and force the view of the minority onto the majority. Therefore, this is not a "legitimate demonstration," but an attempt to gnaw away at the foundations of the democratic regime.

Netanyahu's support for the unlawful activities of the Yesha Council joins a series of severe statements and actions on the part of someone who sees himself as a candidate for prime minister - a position that demands special responsibility.

Already back in 2004, Netanyahu, with several other ministers, managed to secure a government decision under which the withdrawal will require four stages - despite the great risk involved therein to the safety of the security forces and the settlers. In October of the same year, he tried to topple Ariel Sharon in a Knesset vote on the disengagement plan, but finally backed down in disgraceful fashion. He subsequently supported the razing of the homes and settlements to be evacuated. Presumably, he wants the images of Israeli bulldozers wreaking havoc and destruction to intensify the hatred toward Israel. After all, the status of the country means nothing as opposed to winning a few more points among the primaries' voters.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/607657.html

BTW, there are some really thoughtful comments posted in Haaretz about the disengagement plan, quite different from the rants of lunatics like G. Gordon Liddy. Check this out:

The day after: Israel's main tasks after the pullout

With only days remaining before police and soldiers are to begin removing the Israeli residents of the Gaza Strip from their homes, the disengagement is dictating nearly the whole of the nation's political and emotional agenda.

The debate over the pullout remains one of the most charged in Israel's history. It has relegated to the back-burner issues of enormous consequence to the Jewish state, including questions of war and peace with the Palestinians, the disadvantaged within Israel, and the social rifts opened by the disengagement itself.

What will be Israel's most pressing tasks following the disengagement, and how should the nation address them? Should a post-disengagement Israel relate differently to the Palestinians and the world at large, and in what ways? How can the nation best heal its emotional wounds and polarization in the wake of the disengagement.

IG: Go to the link to read the readers' comments:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ArticleNews.jhtml?itemNo=606871&contrassID=13&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0