Bush said today that Sharon has to offer more than lip service to freezing the growth of Jewish communites on the West Bank. And he's probably right - whether or not the place is spelled “Palestine” or “Judea and Samaria,” Israel is not shining up its image by adding more housing.
On the other hand, it seems to me that this may all be a high-handed negotiation strategy. You have to imagine that both the Palestinian leadership and people are out of their mind with frustration over their inability to influence Israeli policy. Sharon will almost definitely evacuate Jews out of Gaza (especially with the demonstration that didn't happen the other day), but I doubt there will be much of a feeling of victory once they're gone. It may turn out to be one of those “be careful what you wish for” deals. As evacuations begin on the West Bank, there will likely be more pressure on the remaining hilltop towns there, and chances are they'll just get more entrenched. Sent wirelessly from my Blackberry.
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