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Israeli security forces drag a resisting Jewish settler onto a bus during the forced evacuation of the Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.
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Peace seems to be taking root between long-standing rivals Palestine and Israel after years of blood, tears, turmoil and war.
Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon began a massive withdrawal of thousands of Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip on August 15, beginning a historic act in hopes to mend some of the difficulties between the Israelis and their Palestinian neighbors.
With upwards of 9,000 settlers leaving Gaza after Israel seized the strip in 1967 during the Six Day War, the 1.3 million Palestinians who remain will have greater freedom to live their lives without Israel watching every move.
At the time of the announcement from Prime Minister Sharon, the settlers were given 48 hours to pack up their belongings and clear out of the strip. Any remaining settlers after the 48-hour time frame were physically taken from their homes to hotels in nearby cities.
Back home in Rexburg, BYU-Idaho political science professor Dr. J. Kent Marlor assesses that maintaining the settlers was too great an opportunity cost for the Israelis.
“The cost isn’t worth keeping the place going,” Marlor said. “You face a dilemma trying to support pockets of your countrymen against the wrath of a million and a half angry Palestinians.”
The eviction of Jewish settlers in the region has been hard to swallow for many, leaving behind what they consider to be a land given to Israel from God.
Israel’s historic move from Gaza hopes to lead to a truce between the two adversaries.
Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas recently phoned Sharon to congratulate him for the successful pullout and expressed hopes of opening a new chapter in their relations, bringing to an end years of bloodshed and war.
Marlor feels a positive can be had from the pullout as well.
“The majority of Israelis supported the pullout and I would say the overall level of conflict will decrease — it’ll help everybody,” Marlor said.
Marlor sees Israeli-Palestinian relations linked directly to the United States, warranting attention from many people, even students at BYU-Idaho who may be ignorant in the situation.
“We need to be critically concerned with what goes on over there. First, [the oil] is a main concern for us, not to mention Israel, seen as a bully to many Arab states, is linked directly to the United States — which doesn’t help the conflicts the United States is already involved in with the Middle East,” Marlor said.
Modern-day Palestine and Israel have been at one another’s throats since at least WWI when Britain, acting as an administrator in the area, encouraged Jewish immigration into the neighborhoods of native Arabs, displacing many of them.
After WWII, the United Nations voted to divide the region into sectors, creating the free nation of Israel and disallowing any Arab or Jewish rule of Jerusalem, a holy land for both parties. The Arab nations furiously opposed the vote, opting to disregard Israel as a true country. The handing over of Gaza to the Palestinians could be just what the doctor ordered.
The pullout of Gaza is an important step on the way to peace, Marlor said.
