Sharon's Wall
No one can accuse Ariel Sharon of not showing leadership.
Of course he faces criticism for unilaterally building a barrier which hurts the interests of many law-abiding Palestinians, and arguably looks like annexation insofar as it goes beyond the "Green Line"--the 1967 borders.
But he seems to be making an honest effort to achieve some of what meaningful negotiations--if they ever occur--might achieve: a retreat of Israelis from settlements that are hardest to defend (in more senses than one), combined with a new confidence in borders that are defensible. It remains to be seen how many settlements will actually be abandoned; there seems to be strong popular support in Israel for abandoning the Gaza Strip.
It does seem the bigger problem is on the Palestinian side. Let us say for the sake of argument that Arafat feels compelled to keep one foot in the radical camp so that he is not out-flanked by those who are more radical than he is. Does he have any actual strategy? It seems that he will not negotiate seriously, and no other Palestinian will negotiate without him involved.
Colin Powell quote from Instapundit, who clearly would go farther:
"Last year the President took a large political step, with political risk, when he put enough pressure on the Palestinian side for them to come forward with somebody who could be seen as a peacemaker, the new Prime Minister Abu Mazen. And we went to Aqaba. The President stood there with the new Prime Minister, King Abdullah of Jordan and with Prime Minister Sharon, and everybody committed to the roadmap and the President's vision.
"Unfortunately, it didn't work because the Palestinians were unable -- and I put the blame squarely on Mr. Arafat -- Arafat was not willing to provide authority to Abu Mazen to take control of the security organizations and to go after terrorism and speak out against terrorism -- not to start a civil war of the Palestinian communities and the Palestinian Authority, but to start moving against terrorism."
UPDATE Feb. 27: Jonathan Rauch (link via Hit and Run) argues that the most likely explanation of Sharon's actions is that he has concluded there will not be meaningful negotiations soon, and like a good general he is hunkering down in a more defensible position.
A more sobering piece by Bernard Avishai
on Slate: what about the Arabs/Palestinians in Jerusalem, and others who will be under Israeli control in isolated pockets (perhaps "ghettos"?).
"About 100,000 of greater Jerusalem's 250,000 Arab residents will be caught directly between Israeli Defense Forces checkpoints and other fences; at least 30,000 do not qualify for Israeli health insurance or travel documents, becoming stateless, and those who do qualify receive virtually no government services--it is common for them to fight their way through choked queues in front of government offices." This brings up the question: why cannot at least some Palestinian Arabs become full-fledged citizens of Israel?
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