Many analysts think Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withdrew Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza because of the Palestinian “demographic threat” to Israel’s Jewish and democratic character. But Sharon, who has dismissed demographic concerns in the past, made his decision primarily for security reasons.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s belief that Israel must retain strategic control of the West Bank to protect its security, by keeping most of its settlements and forces there after its planned withdrawal from Gaza in August, 2005 is at odds with Israel’s own experience and the lessons of history.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to “disengage” Israel from the Gaza Strip and a small part of the northern West Bank achieved political and operational critical mass in late 2004.

The government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, ravaged by defections in the Likud and the ruling coalition, is proceeding undeterred along its established timetable for the evacuation of all 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four others in the northern West Bank by the end of 2005. 

President George W. Bush himself still seems convinced that the democratic bone fides of a Palestinian regime, rather than its territorial dimensions, are the key point of departure for U.S. policy.

A curious dynamic has been created in relations between Israelis and Palestinians during this decade. The creation of a diplomatic framework for resolving the long-festering conflict has focused international attention–and, indeed, most Israeli and Palestinian attention–on the interminable rounds of negotiations and the minutia that are the fodder of diplomats.