We will survive the disengagement: editorial

This is it.

Israel's disengagement from Gaza, which we hope will stimulate a peace process, begins next week. There is no turning back. Willingly or not, 9,000 Jewish settlers will abandon their homes and relocate outside the territories.

With more than 50,000 police officers and Israel Defense Force soldiers on hand to enforce the law, all we can do now is pray that the process goes smoothly.

But will it?

That is the question on everyone's mind. Many settlers, especially those in northern Gaza, have signed up for compensation and will leave quietly, if not happily.

Others, especially zealots from the Gush Katif, Netzarim, Kfar Doram and Morag settlements in the south, have threatened disobedience. Some have even intimated violence.

The thought of Jew fighting Jew, complicated by Arab terrorists firing upon departing Jews, is almost too much to bear. We hope Israel's security forces have in place contingencies for every scenario.

Still, observers on both sides anticipate a wrenching ordeal. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an outspoken opponent of disengagement, resigned his Cabinet post in protest. Supporters of disengagement, like former Labor Party spokesman Uri Dromy, view withdrawal from Gaza as necessary for Israel's ultimate survival.

With self-defined borders, wrote Dromy in an recent op-ed, Israel might be "smaller in size but stronger in spirit, ready to defend itself if attacked or give a helping hand to Palestinians once they embark on a peaceful track."

Polls show most Israelis agree. They have grown tired of sending their sons and daughters to protect a tiny population of Jews in a hostile land. They have grown nervous about the so-called demography bomb, meaning that within a decade, Jews would become a minority in Israel and the territories. And they have grown tired of stalemate when it came to peace talks.

This is why Ariel Sharon, the hawk of hawks and architect of the settler movement, has decided to take this unilateral step.

Of course it is a gamble. Without the buffer of settlements, groups like Hamas may seek to turn Gaza into an open haven for terror. The Arab world may perceive disengagement as an act of weakness, and move against Israel accordingly. Then, too, there is the awful prospect of civil unrest in the heart of Israel. Clearly, the days ahead will test Israelis like nothing before.

Plenty of factions around the world are hoping Israel will fail that test. We are betting on the innate Jewish instinct for survival. It has gotten us this far over the millennia and it will likewise carry Israel though this momentous time.




GAZA GAMBLE