Unilateral disengagement was Ehud Olmert’s brainchild. NPR’s Ari Shapiro speaks with the former Israeli prime minister about how he views that plan now.
What can Gaza’s past tell us about its future?
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Nearly 20 years ago, after weeks of heavy fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, Israel officially began to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
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The mission is completed. An era has ended.
In 2005, Gaza divisional commander General Aviv Kochavi spoke at the border crossing between Israel and Gaza.
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From this moment on, the responsibility for all that takes place in Gaza Strip lays on the Palestinians.
At the time, Israel had occupied Gaza for 38 years – since the 1967 war. The move polarized Israelis. They watched soldiers forcibly evacuating some of the 8,000 settlers who lived in Gaza.
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(Shouting in non-English language).
(Shouting in non-English language).
Palestinians hailed the withdrawal as a victory – a cause for celebration.
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(Non-English language spoken).
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The withdrawal happened when Ariel Sharon was prime minister. One of the chief architects of that plan became the next prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert. When I spoke with Olmert earlier today, I asked him to reflect back on that time and explain why he viewed a controversial disengagement as the right course of action.
I thought then, and I still think, that we do the right thing. Israel didn’t have to occupy Gaza. It didn’t add anything to…
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