"D" Day in the Gaza Strip
A commentary by Cecil Maranville
United Church of God elder, Glendale, Arizona
It's "D" Day (Disengagement
Day) for Jews living in a tiny parcel of land on the Israeli-Egyptian
border known as the Gaza Strip. The 8,500-9,000 Jews who have made the
Strip their home must begin to move out by mid-August. Will this strategic
move make Israel more secure or will the "D" stand ultimately
for "disaster?"
This traumatic departure is so divisive in Israel that it threatens
to split the country. Just as the Israeli cabinet voted its final approval
for the plan by a 17-5 margin, Sharon's popular finance minister,
former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resigned his post in protest.
Only a slim majority of the Israeli electorate backs the Sharon government's
plan to remove Jews from the Strip, along with the Israeli troops based
there to protect the settlers (the government refuses to disclose how
many).
The Strip takes its name from the city of Gaza, mentioned in the Bible
as a Philistine city in the days of ancient Israel. The Strip is small
by any standards. It measures 11 km (nearly 7 miles) at the Egyptian
border, 51 km (about 32 miles) bordering Israel and 40 km (nearly 25
miles) of coastline along the Mediterranean. The area inhabited by Jewish
settlers, Gush Katif, is but a sliver of a sliver, a rectangle about
4 x 1 km in the corner of the Strip (the 4 km along the Mediterranean
and 1 km along the Egyptian border).
Prime Minister Sharon once encouraged Jews to settle in the region,
promising that they would always have the protection of the IDF (Israeli
Defense Force). Now his government has reversed that policy, and it stands
poised with over 40,000 troops and police to evacuate—forcibly if
necessary—every Jewish settler. Some IDF troops are refusing to
participate.
So, why is the disengagement from this small territory so controversial?
What are the likely consequences?
Obviously, those Jews who made the region their home—some for
nearly four decades—are distraught at having to leave the area
they beautified and developed. But the real issue is security, for Israel
is removing its military bases from the Strip. Mr. Netanyahu voiced the
concerns of Israelis and supporters of Israel in the West: This pullout
will likely lead to more Palestinian terror attacks against Israel.
Political columnist Cal Thomas went even further in his August 4 piece
posted on Townhall.com, calling this an irreversible step in the complete
disappearance of Israel. "Does anyone doubt that the moment (or
even before the moment) the last Jewish 'settler' is dislodged
from Gaza and the last thriving business closed, that Hamas ... will
rush into Gaza, expand their terror operation and begin close-up attacks
on Israel?"
As soon as the IDF withdraws, the PA's security forces will immediately
be thrown into a power struggle with Hamas' terrorist "army" (which
may number up to 10,000 strong) for the control of the Strip. Israel
will then be so small that it may not win another war against those who
seek its destruction.
Thomas bluntly asks: "Has anything changed in the Palestinian
and Arab world? Has the rhetoric in mosques, schools and media cooled
toward Israel or the objective of eliminating it? It has not. If anything,
the rhetoric has become even more volatile" ("The End of
Israel?," (c) 2005 Tribune Media Services).
Interest in the disengagement is gripping the entire world. Twice as
many foreign journalists have descended upon Jerusalem to cover the story
than those who came to cover the Iraq war of 2003. Undoubtedly, most
of the 4,000 journalists will cast their reporting in a much different
light than Mr. Thomas' perspective, for much of the world appears
to believe that Israel is the aggressor, and that the Palestinians are
the victims.
Yet, on the same day that Cal Thomas' column was published, Palestinian
Authority (PA) Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei declared to thousands of cheering
Palestinians in Gaza City that the disengagement was but the first step
in the "liberation" of all of Jerusalem to be the Palestinian
capital. His intentions are plain.
Israel is just as adamant that it will never relinquish control of
Jerusalem, meaning that this tired and troubled city will remain the
focal point of the world's most divisive ideological passions.
 You
cannot afford to view today's events merely in the light
of those who report on them from a purely secular perspective. You also
need to understand them from both the point of view of history and biblical
prophecy—which has been called "history written in advance." For
this unique dual perspective, be sure to request or download now your
free copy of our booklet, The
Middle East in Bible Prophecy.
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