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How we got here By Nadav Shragai Tags: israel, gaza, hamas When the prayer for the welfare of Israel's soldiers was said in Shabbat services this weekend and the congregation asked that they be "crowned with victory and salvation," the words took on a concrete meaning. At such times, a sane public seeks success for its soldiers and those who send them into battle, and puts aside its differences. And if, despite the cannons' roar, silence is a luxury, it is not because Hamas murderers and innocent civilians are dying, or out of fear that more Palestinians will join the circle of violence and terror. These fears are the product of the school of hypocrisy that is unmoved by eight years of rocket fire at an Israeli population and by the hatred the Palestinians have been instilling in their children for a generation. The public deserves a reminder of how we got to this stage, though not in order to trumpet things that should be said, including that this war was expected and avoidable; that we warned that rockets would fall here, that Hamas would gain power, that the expulsion would weaken us and strengthen our enemies. Advertisement This reminder of the colossal failure known as the "disengagement" is necessary because, absurdly, there are those who would use the results of the war against Hamas to promote additional uprootings and withdrawals in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spoke of this during the Second Lebanon War, to describe the fruits that victory there would produce. Uzi Dayan, Benjamin Netanyahu's new acquisition for Likud, explained with great candor, a year after the Gaza disengagement, "if we do not restore deterrence and provide a security response to the Qassams, we will not be able to carry out the separation in Judea and Samaria." The left continues to hew to this equation even now, in war. As in the disengagement and in the uprooting of the Jews from Gush Katif, the left has not said goodbye to its dream of uprooting more Jews and giving exclusive control of more territory to the Palestinian Authority - even after the number of rockets and mortar shells fired into Israel in 2008 from the Gaza Strip was almost 13 times the number fired in the year preceding the disengagement, (3,520 compared to 281, data provided by the military establishment and published in Makor Rishon, January 2, 2009). Even after being burned once with the disengagement, the left is not twice shy - they still seek to uproot Jews from the mountain ridges from which one can see Tel Aviv and its environs; and from Jerusalem, in which one does not even need a Grad, a Qassam or a mortar, where a rifle or a machine gun is sufficient to turn residents' lives into hell. Kadima, Labor and even Likud have not thoroughly taken to heart the main lesson of the Oslo Accords and the Gaza disengagement: that not even the slightest fragment of our security can be given into Palestinian hands, not to Hamas and not even to the Palestinian Authority, whose future is in grave doubt. They were also a full partner during many different periods of terror against us and their interest in peace is conditioned upon the constant erosion of our vital interests. In any other country, the public would have sent home the architects of the Oslo disaster and the captains of the disengagement, but sitting on the presidential throne today is one of the champions of Oslo who still insists it was not a mistake. The foreign minister is the chairman of Kadima, which was a full partner to the disengagement and is convinced that it is not folly, while the positions of prime minister and defense minister are filled by two patrons of the tahadiyeh, which enabled Hamas to improve its range to reach Ashdod, Be'er Sheva and Kiryat Malakhi. If fate has decreed that this is the team that is now leading us into war, the minimum we can ask from it is to bury plans that would lead us to similar catastrophes in other places and to focus on a single mission: eradicating Hamas and removing the threat hanging over the people of Israel. Bookmark to del.icio.us   'With total determination' Widow of IDF soldier killed Monday remembers her fallen hero. Anti-Semites unite! Protests against Gaza op worldwide have had a hateful, violent tone.   1.   The hatred was instilled a bit earlier 10:02  |  John 06/01/09   2.   Newsflash for Nadav Shragai 10:10  |  Natallie Durson 06/01/09   3.   The Left can`t wait to see the end of Israel ! 12:12  |  Akram Zekaria 06/01/09   4.   We will soon have elections 12:13  |  Zev 06/01/09   5.   Nadav Shragai needs to do a course... 12:31  |  Matty Groves 06/01/09   6.   Natalie 12:36  |  my2sense 06/01/09   7.   So what DO you want, Mr. Shagrai? 12:42  |  Murray 06/01/09   8.   To Natalie 13:13  |  Eric 06/01/09   9.   Bravo 15:45  |  moshe 06/01/09   10.   Another Israeli voice for one state 17:29  |  Ben 06/01/09   11.   Both arguments have merit. But... 20:13  |  DJStahl 06/01/09   12.   "Disengagement" and every Israeli retreat is a total disaster. 21:27  |  Chaim 06/01/09   13.   courageous journalism 21:31  |  meir 06/01/09

Read & React Bradley Burston / Gaza War Diary III: If Mexico shelled Texas, like Hamas shells Israel Responses: 151 At least 30 die in strike on Gaza school; IDF: Troops fired in self-defense Responses: 103 ANALYSIS / Israel is on its way to reoccupying all of the Gaza Strip Responses: 32 ANALYSIS / Price of stubborness over Gaza exit is dead Israeli soldiers Responses: 59 More Headlines 02:12 Abbas at UN calls for Gaza truce, fresh peace talks 01:51 Israel to establish 'humanitarian corridor' for Gaza Strip 01:55 Egypt's Gaza truce plan: ceasefire followed by border security talks 00:21 IDF shell kills 30 in Gaza UN school; Israel mulls appeal over Hamas fire from UN facilities 22:47 Obama breaks silence on Gaza, calls civilian deaths 'a deep concern' 23:03 Al-Qaida No. 2 urges Muslims to attack Israeli and Western targets over Gaza op 23:50 Five Israeli soldiers killed in 24 hours, as IDF closes in on Gaza cities 23:42 French TV claims photos from 2005 showed damage from Israel's Gaza operation 16:21 Gaza rocket hits Gedera, 30km from Tel Aviv; baby lightly hurt 17:12 ANALYSIS / Price of stubborness over Gaza exit is dead soldiers 18:20 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 00:22 'You'll be proud of me, yet' slain IDF soldier told family before entering Gaza 21:45 The view from Ramallah / An Intifada in its infancy? 22:19 Turkey-Israel basketball game canned after pro-Gaza protesters storm court 14:37 ANALYSIS / Israel is on its way to reoccupying all of the Gaza Strip 19:17 'Iran pledged Hezbollah won't respond to Gaza op,' says top Lebanese MP 18:39 Jewish and Arab students clash on Gaza offensive 13:06 ANALYSIS / The unspoken goal of bringing down Hamas in Gaza 20:07 Hospitalized but defiant, Israeli soldiers eager to return to Gaza battle 13:40 Israeli general: Never knew I was evacuating my wounded soldier son from Gaza 13:00 Burning car rams synagogue in southwest France 13:46 Egypt bars doctors from entering Gaza Strip 05:44 Hamas puts Gazans in danger by drawing IDF into urban warfare 18:21 PICTURE GALLERY / Gaza incursion sparks protests around world Previous Editions Select Day 06 jan 05 jan 04 jan 02 jan 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec

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