By Uzi Benziman
The general staff is wondering what the prime minister means when he says there will be no withdrawal under fire. Does he mean that the disengagement plan will not be implemented as long as the terror acts continue, like the one at the Karni crossing over the weekend, or that the duty of the Israel Defense Forces is to ensure that no fire takes place when it is time to pull out?
In other words, is Ariel Sharon conditioning his plan's execution on a radical change in the Palestinians' behavior, or is he sticking to it at all costs and making the army responsible for creating the terms to carry it out?
On the face of it, Sharon appears resolved to carry out the disengagement initiative; this is borne out by his conduct so far, for which he has paid a heavy political price. It also appears to be in Abu Mazen's interests to make it easier for Sharon to implement his plan. Until a year ago, it was said that the prime minister would not uproot a single flower from the settlements, and now he is announcing his readiness to pull out of two whole regions.
However, Abu Mazen does not seem to be helping Sharon with his plan. He is showing no signs of imposing his authority on the Palestinian terror organizations; at most, he wishes to reach understandings with them, and it is doubtful whether he will achieve even that goal. Abu Mazen is an intelligent man. He knows what Israel, Europe and the United States expect of him. He understands that he is doomed if he fails to enforce law and order in the Palestinian Authority, if he fails to subject the armed militias to one authority, purge the corruption, control the money transfers and eliminate the rival power structures. Yet, so far, he appears to recoil from taking firm action to realize the powers that the majority of the Palestinians have invested in him.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/527519.html
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