Kaplinsky pushing ‘total disengagement’ • ‘Whatever we do, we get the blame for what happens,’ laments top official
A day after the cabinet defined the Gaza Strip as “hostile territory,” The Jerusalem Post learned Thursday that the IDF is working on a proposal that calls for a “complete disengagement” from the Gaza Strip – involving the closure of all border crossings with Israel and the transfer of all responsibility over the Palestinian territory to Egypt.
The proposal, defense officials said, was recently raised by Deputy Chief of General Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky during a series of meetings within the defense establishment.
While Israel removed its military positions and settlements from the Gaza Strip in 2005, it has maintained a certain level of responsibility for the Palestinian population there, including coordinating the Gaza-based activities of humanitarian organizations such as UNRWA, the World Bank and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
According to the proposal, which officials stressed was in its early stages, Israel would completely disconnect from Gaza by closing off the Erez, Karni, Sufa and Kerem Shalom crossings and instead directing humanitarian organizations to work with Egypt.
“The idea is to finalize what was started with the 2005 ‘disengagement,’” explained a senior defense official. “No matter how much we try and what we do, the humanitarian organizations consistently blame us for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This way they will no longer have a case against us, since we won’t be involved.”
The official said the proposal was being pushed strongly by Kaplinsky, who has said in a number of meetings that there is no longer a need for Israel to take responsibility for what happens in the Strip.
The parallel being suggested is southern Lebanon, which is home to Hizbullah guerrillas and their weapons but, following Israel’s withdrawal from its security zone there to the international border in 2000, is plainly no longer under Israel’s responsibility.
Under the proposal, it is possible that the Palestinians would be able to rebuild the Dahiniye Airport and construct a naval
