Convergence or Divergence?
Was the Gaza withdrawal a test? Were the results of unilateral withdrawal from Gaza evaluated to judge the likelihood of successful withdrawals from more territory? If so, what lessons did Olmert learn? If not, why not?
If so, exactly what did Olmert learn? Did Olmert learn that further withdrawals would improve Israel's security? Did he learn that giving the Arabs what they wanted, without even a promise of concession from their side, would decrease terror? Did the withdrawal earn Israel any goodwill from the rest of the free world? Did the Arabs take what was given and start building the infrastructure and institutions for their nascent state? Has there been any change in the amount spent on security? Are Israelis safer today than they were before Gush Katif, et. al., was/were evacuated and destroyed? Has Olmert concluded that the withdrawal was a success, a failure, or something else?
Obviously he’s concluded withdrawal from Gaza was a success. But how… why?
What result of the withdrawal has given him the confidence that more withdrawal from Judea and Samaria will succeed? Was there any success in the re-settlement? If so can it be reasonably hoped to be repeated on a scale 10 times larger?
By what measure may one conclude that unilateral withdrawal was a net good? Because they'd have to eventually withdraw anyway? Because they had to do something? Because they were weary? The costs of that re-settlement plan are still adding up, what about its benefits?
Finally someone with some political oomph has stated the obvious. There is should be no more need to re-settle Jews living in Judea and Samaria than there is to re-settle Arabs living in Israel. The only stumbling block is the complete lack of desire for peace on the part of the Arabs. They only seek temporary cease fires, they only seek hudnas, to allow them a chance to regain their strength and to consolidate their gains. They pay only lip service to peace to mollify westerners, all the while working to drive the Jews into the sea... and Olmert's answer is to give them more land for nothing.