The thing is, both sides are right. The right is right that the Oslo Accords and the Disengagement brought a catastrophe upon us. The withdrawal from Gaza in 1994 and Gaza in 2005 enabled it to become fertile ground for the emergence of an Iranian-funded Islamo-Nazi terrorist organization. The problematic nature of Israeli control of the Gaza Strip has always been represented by the same chilling picture: IDF soldiers crawling through the sands of the Philadelphi Route in desperate search for the remains of six Givati soldiers after their APC was blown up. But the loss of Israeli control over the Gaza Strip has given rise to horrific images that shake our souls, in which ZAKA personnel search for human remains among the ruins of the envelope.
The left is right, too. The greatest and most horrific disaster in the history of the country occurred on the watch of the right-wing government, under the prime minister, who made sure to emphasize over the years that he cares about "life itself." How many civilian arenas have been abandoned here in the past decade and a half, how many resources have been invested, how many strategic decisions have been made on the assumption that they are distancing the ayatollahs' regime from us. The doctrine of Netanyahu, the undisputed leader of the right, failed. The silence was imaginary. Containment led to escalation, the Abraham Accords did not cause the Palestinians to rethink their course, Russia is turning its back on us, and the insane defense of technology and cyber has not prevented an old Hamasnik on crutches from crossing the border fence. As if that wasn't bad enough, a tunnel was documented this week in Jenin as well, and an unimaginable number of abductees are being held in Gaza.
And the right is right, have we already said? It would be utterly naïve to think that the prolonged demonstrations, especially the divisive statements and letters of refusal, did not encourage our enemies to assume that there is an opportune time here: a weak government, a weakened army, a conflicted society.
But the left is not wrong. This arrogant and unprofessional government aggressively promoted reform that involved the appointment of a corrupt minister and perpetuation of inequality of burden. The struggle for the image of the state is proper, not to say necessary. We have no other country.
The right is right. The settlement is proving itself to be a security force multiplier. Without it, the military presence on the ground is like a foreign entity in a hostile country. Jewish settlements and the roads between them make the area safer and also more convenient for essential operational activity. Say what you will about the problematic nature of military control in Gaza – it never demanded, in the days before the disengagement, the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists.
And the left is right, too. For now, Gaza's two million residents are not going anywhere. Nor will they decide to love us, despite the humanitarian corridor we have opened for them. Settlement in the Gaza Strip that would require a massive military presence may prove to be a burden, and it is better to look for alternative ways to preserve Israeli freedom of movement on the ground.
The thing is, both sides are right. The right is right that the Oslo Accords and the Disengagement brought a catastrophe upon us. The left is right, too. The greatest and most horrific disaster in the history of the country happened on the watch of the right-wing government
The right is actually right. There is no real difference between Abu Mazen's Palestinian Authority and Haniyeh's Hamas. On the one hand, the PA cooperates with Israel as long as it is convenient and worthwhile for it, and on the other hand, raises, incentivizes and finances the worst of murderers. But the left is also right. We have to recognize reality and work with what is, and what we have is a few million Palestinians who live next door to us – and a few million Israelis who are deeply divided on how to proceed from here.
The future of the Gaza Strip cannot be decided by political pressure, and it will be measured in only one way: whether Israeli citizens return to live in the envelope. The healthy instinct of a citizen desires life better than any statement by a senior official in a suit. The "day after" policy should not be based on an attempt to inspire hope and clinging to false optimism. Give us cold, dry realism, measured by what we've lost: flourishing communities and citizens sleeping at night. In the absence of these things, all statements are nothing more than brain confusion. I don't care if the solution is taken from the law book of the right or the left, as long as the bottom line is clear: children play on Barry's lawns.
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