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On January 12th, 2004, Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon addressed the Knesset and assured Israel’s elected representatives that he would present the details of his program for unilateral retreat from the Katif Jewish farming communities near Gaza before the Knesset and Israel’s allies before moving ahead with the implementation of any such policy.
The words of his commitment were: “These steps (unilateral disengagement from the Palestinians) will be undertaken following exhaustive discussions between the coalition parties and with the full cooperation of our international allies, headed by the United Statesâ€Â ( Official Translation)
However, less than two weeks after making such a commitment, Raanan Gisin, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s foreign press advisor, told journalist Dr Aaron Lerner on January 25th that “it was not clear if the discussions with the coalition parties would take place before the visit to Washngtonâ€Â.
And so it came to pass. On February 5th, Sharon’s deputy prime minister Ehud Olmert suddenly was reported to be in Washington, presenting Sharon’s retreat policy as a fait accompli to the highest levels of the US government and US Congress, concluding his lightning visit with a press conference held with US Sec’y of State Colin Powell.
At the same time, Sharon dispatched representatives to negotiate financial offers to Katif farmers, to offer them lands just East of Katif, in the Besor region, also within rocket range of Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Israeli cabinet continued its regular cabinet meetings on February 8th and 15th, where Sharon refused to even discus his retreat plans from Katif. When Tourism Minister Benny Elon asked that the issue be put on the cabinet agenda, Sharon made like he did not hear the idea.
Sharon has also not convened the Likud representation in the Knesset to discuss his Katif retreat policy. However, 14 out of the 40 members of the Likud Knesset members have signed a letter in which they formally commit themselves to opposing any such policy. The number 14 is significant, since Knesset law allows a faction to split off from its mother political party, if that faction is made up of at least one third of the members of that party’s representation in the Knesset.
When asked if there would be a meeting of the Likud members of the Knesset with Sharon, Knesset Likud leader Gideon Saar had no answer.
What did happen was that Sharon ordered his office manager, attorney Dov Weisglass, to prepare for a formal presentation of his retreat policy to the US government next week in Washington and to Abu Alla, Arafat’s appointed Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. Without the sanction of the Israeli government or Knesset.
In other words, Sharon acts on his own, floating a proposal, without the sanction of the Israeli government or Knesset.
However, Sharon has mandated his PR people to lobby Jewish organizations throughout North America to sell his retreat plan. Without the sanction of the Israeli government or Knesset.
This week, Sharon plans to sell his retreat plan to the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations from the US Sharon plans to sell his retreat plan with reps of the US State Department who arrive this week. Without the sanction of the Israeli government or Knesset.
In other words, Ariel Sharon is trying to get American citizens involved in Israel’s democratic process without going through Israel’s democratic process, and without the sanction of the Israeli government or Knesset.
