From an article by Isi Leibler, THE JERUSALEM POST, Jun. 16, 2005
Have we lost our minds? How else can one explain the curtain of silence which greeted the devastating press interviews by outgoing chief of General Staff Moshe Ya'alon?
Ya'alon predicted that:
* Current government policies might culminate in a new round of terror directed at the major population centers - including Tel Aviv - which could be inundated by suicide bombers and Kassam rockets.
* Even a retreat to the '67 armistice lines will not achieve a settlement. The current Palestinian leadership will only be satisfied when Tel Aviv is conceded and Jewish sovereignty is ended.
* Mahmoud Abbas and Arafat are birds of a feather, and Abu Mazen's determination to promote the Arab "right of return" is set in stone.
* About the two-state solution, Ya'alon says, "We have created a paradigm that generates an illusion." A Palestinian state under the existing leadership would intensify the existential threat to Israel.
* The realization seeping into Palestinian consciousness that terror was harming their cause will be totally undermined by Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. The "victorious" terrorists will be able to strengthen their argument that by continuing to kill our civilians they will ultimately overcome Israel's will to resist.
The devastating Ya'alon scenario conveys the fear that by renewing our former delusions about having peace partners we are inviting a replay of the Oslo debacle.
....CAN THE only country in the world facing an existential threat simply ignore such a warning from the retiring head of its defense establishment?
...After all, even Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Muhammad Dahlan warned Israel that unless Palestinian demands are met, a third "intifada" is inevitable.
...I don't know if Ya'alon is right. But when a man with his qualifications feels impelled to share such fears with the people, at least a full debate and review is warranted.
...We stand once more at the crossroad, and need to make decisions that will have existential implications on our long-term future. Over 1,000 Israelis have already lost their lives. If the Knesset does not act now and conduct an informed debate on these issues, it would amount to a dereliction of responsibility, and history will condemn the leaders of Israel far more harshly than in the wake of the 1973 Yom Kippur War disaster.
End the silence. Start an enlightened debate.
The writer chairs the Diaspora-Israel relations committee of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and is a former chairman of the governing board of the World Jewish Congress.
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