Sharon: Is He Planning a Bank Withdrawl?

So what will Sharon do if/when he is re-elected as Prime Minister?

Arutz Sheva reports on the proposed Kadima party platform:

Justice Minister Tzippy Livny, one of the leading Cabinet ministers who bolted the Likud to join Sharon's party, presented the new party's platform yesterday.

The platform's main diplomatic points:

o A Palestinian state should be established in Judea and Samaria.
o The PA state is to be demilitarized and clean of terrorism.
o Jerusalem and Jewish settlement blocs must remain under Israeli sovereignty.
o Israel must balance the need to retain a Jewish majority with maintaining control of some of the areas in dispute.

Arutz-7 diplomatic correspondent Haggai Huberman gives some numbers on what Sharon plans for Judea and Samaria:

"But even if we assume that Sharon wants to keep the maximum area in all these cases, it still means that Israel will retain no more than 10% of Judea and Samaria. This means that when Ariel Sharon says he wants to keep settlement blocs, it means he wants to give away 90% of the area. This is practically the same as Yossi Beilin's and Labor's plans, not including Jerusalem [which the latter agree to divide].

But then take a look at what AFP reports:

Ariel Sharon ruled out any more unilateral withdrawals from the occupied
West Bank as he pledged Thursday to reach peace with the Palestinians.

After pulling troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip and a small part of the West Bank over the summer, Sharon has warned that more land may have to be evacuated if a Palestinian state is to be established under the terms of the internationally drafted roadmap peace plan.

But speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv, the prime minister reiterated that he had no plans for a repeat of the unilateral withdrawals that precipitated a split with his right-wing Likud party.

"I have no intention of carrying out an initiative such as the one we have taken" in Gaza, he said.

So what is Sharon's intent--what is he really up to, especially since he still claims to be committed to the Road Map.

Another point. ABC reports:

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Thursday Israel intended to keep control of the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, signaling its insistence on retaining settlements there under any future peace deal.

Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv, Sharon called the Jordan Valley, where Israel has built a string of small settlements, part of the Jewish state's "security zone." Palestinians say a continued Israeli presence there would deny them a viable state.

But Huberman reports there was no mention of keeping the Jordan Valley in the party platform:

"They also did not mention [retaining] the Jordan Valley yesterday," Huberman said. "I listened carefully for that. Not to mention that the partition fence is on the Jordan River, east of the Jordan Valley, and that there is a tremendous border crossing terminal near Mecholah. All this does not bode well for keeping the Jordan Valley under Israeli sovereignty."

"This is not just theoretical," the long-time Arutz-7 commentator and Land of Israel author said. "By looking at the fence/wall being built, we see that Sharon's party has essentially adopted the left-wing position that the fence will be a political one, not just a defensive one, that it will be Israel's final border, and that all the Jewish communities on its other side will be destroyed."

So just what is Sharon going to do?

It would be easier to think that Sharon might be serious, if he didn't say things like:

"I hope that the Palestinians have also learnt the lesson and understand they must halt their policies of the last few years which have prevented us from reaching such an arrangement."

Just what lessons does he really think the Palestinians have learned after having had Gaza handed to them for nothing? And don't forget Rafah.

"I am ready to make painful concessions for a lasting peace but I have not changed and will not change my stance on the question of security," he underlined.

Just what other painful concessions does he have in mind then? If he is not giving away 90% of Yehudah and Shomron and if he keeping the Jordan Valley--what other 'painful concession is he talking about?

One reason Sharon may avoid coming right out and saying what he plans may be that once the novelty of Kadima wears off, Israelis' real feelings about the Disengagement may come through. According to a poll this past week:

...of the 500 Israeli Jews polled, 67% are opposed to major withdrawals from Judea and Samaria in response to the Palestinian Authority's failure to combat terror groups. Among self-proclaimed Kadima supporters, 54% opposed further unilateral withdrawals.

Just 28% of the Jewish public, and 37% of Kadima constituents, said they support carrying out significant withdrawals if the Road Map is not advanced upon due to PA inaction.

Last election, Sharon opposed the idea of disengaging from Gaza--and then went ahead and did it. This time around--he's not clearly saying what he is going to do.

With Likud and Labor in disarray, is there anyone who can force Sharon to say up front exactly what he plans to do?

See also: The Wizard of Odds

Crossposted at Israpundit

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