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Israeli Army Officer Rules out Possibility of Withdrawal from Gaza
A senior Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officer said Monday that there is no possibility now of withdrawing from "even a centimeter" of the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported.
The unnamed officer said that any evacuation of Jewish settlements, even the most isolated one, would be interpreted by the Palestinians as a victory.
He said that the IDF was working to widen the margins of the settlement blocs in the Gaza Strip in order to increase the settlers' security and send a message to the Palestinians that violence on their part will lead to their losses.
He also predicted that the current conflict is likely to continue for a long period, with the possible scenario that Palestinian security officials will join the cycle of violence.
The Gaza, the seat of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), was the first Palestinian area to realize autonomy under the leadership of the PNA. However, there are still 15 Israeli settlements with about 5,000 settlers living on that piece of land.
The Israeli security forces often cut the Gaza Strip into different sections citing security reasons during the current spate of Israeli-Palestinian clashes.
Israel was set to evacuate its settlements and completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip according to the proposals that the Israelis and Palestinians discussed during their previous peace talks before the outbreak of the current Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, that erupted on September 28.
More than 400 people have been killed, mostly Palestinians, and thousands more wounded during the bloody violence.
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