The Price of a Villa in the Jungle

Ariel Sharon was granted immunity by the media for his peccadilloes by virtue of the disengagement. For the Palestinians, a regime that is torn by internal strife and gives itself perks is sent straight to the opposition. For us here in Israel, the regime bought the public's heart by extracting the state from the quicksand of Gaza. Fatah went into the elections empty-handed. Their corrupt leaders had nothing to offer apart from corruption, want and despair. The no-partner approach transformed their only advantage - the peace process - into an empty slogan. Hamas, which has not yet tasted the delights of rule, presented hands clean of corruption and a Gaza Strip clean of Israelis. Only walls of obtuseness and fences of fear could have concealed this simple truth from the eyes of the neighbor across the way.