Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 - Definition

Israel's unilateral disengagement plan (also known as the disengagement plan, תוכנית ההינתקות) is a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to remove all 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and 4 settlements in Samaria area of the West Bank while holding onto at least six groups of communities and settlements in the heart of the territory Ariel, Efrat, Gush Etzion, Kiryat Arba, Ma'ale Adummim, and the re-established community in Hebron. The fate of other settlements has not been revealed.

Sharon says the plan is designed to improve Israel's security, in the absence of political negotiations to end the conflict. Palestinians say the plan aims to bypass past international agreements and instead call for an overall withdrawal from the territories.

U.S. president George W. Bush endorsed the plan, saying:

As part of a final peace settlement, Israel must have secure and recognized borders, which should emerge from negotiations between the parties in accordance with UNSC Resolutions 242 and 338. In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949. (emphasis added)

The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, announced the European Union's disapproval of the plan, saying it "will not recognize any change to the pre-1967 borders other than those arrived at by agreement between the parties." However, Europe has given tentative backing to the Disengagemnt plan as part of the Road Map for Peace.

Under the disengagement plan (http://www.pmo.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/00003fb6/hsugrbktdfsmdunbatcsxdjxvevzzdic/מסמךא.doc) as adopted on 6 June 2004 (see below), the IDF will remain on the Gaza-Egypt border and may engage in further house demolitions to widen a 'buffer zone' there (Art 6). Israel will continue to control Gaza's borders, coastline, and airspace, and reserves the right to undertake incursions at will (Art 3.1). Gaza will also remain dependent on Israeli water, communication, electricity, and sewage networks (Art 8); existing customs arrangements with Israel (whereby imports from Israel to Gaza are not taxed, exports from Gaza to Israel are taxed, and Israel collects customs duties on foreign products entering Gaza) will remain in force and the Israeli currency will continue to be used (Art 10). For these reasons, and because Israel will not accept a Palestinian sovereign authority in Gaza at this time, foreign observers have argued that legally speaking, the disengagement will not constitute an end to the occupation (see, for example, statement by Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/10/29/isrlpa9577.htm) and extensive legal analysis by the Harvard International Humanitarian Law Research initiative (free registration required) (http://www.ihlresearch.org/opt/feature.php?a=55).

Failing to gain public support from senior ministers, Sharon agreed that the Likud party will hold a referendum on the plan in advance of an Israeli cabinet vote. The referendum was held on May 2, 2004 and ended with 56% of the voters saying no to his disengagement plan despite most polls showing approximately 55% of Party members supporting the plan before the referendum.

Commentators and the press described the rejection of the disengagement plan as a hard blow to Sharon. Sharon himself announced that he accepts the Likud referendum results and will take time to consider his steps. He has ordered to Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz to create an amended plan which Likud voters could accept. (As of August that plan has been accepted by the cabinet in principle)

On June 6, 2004, Sharon's government approved the amended disengagement plan but with reservation that dismantling of each settlement should be voted separately. The plan was approved in 14-7 majority after the National Union ministers and cabinet members Avigdor Liberman and Benny Elon were sacked and a compromise offer by Likud's cabinet member Tzipi Livni was achieved.

Following the approval of the plan and the intensive terrorist attacks on Erez crossing and the Erez industrial zone, it is decided to close the Erez Industrial Zone and move its factories to development towns such as Ashkelon, Dimona, Yeruham and Sderot. Many factories were shut down even before, because of increasing Palestinian terrorism and attempts of Palestinian employees to murder their Jewish employers.

As a result of the passing of the plan (in principle), two NRP (Mafdal) ministers (Effie Eitam and Yitzhak Levy) resigned, leaving the government with a minority in the Knesset. Despite these measures, the NRP is currently split on whether to leave the government completely out of opposition to the disengagement plan or remain inside to prevent a secular Likud-Labour-Shinui coalition from forming.

Sharon's pushing through this plan has alienated many of his supporters on the right and has garnered him unusual support from the Left wing in Israel. However, many on both sides remain skeptical of his will to carry out a withdrawal beyond Gaza and Northern Samaria. It is believed he has a majority for the plan in the government but not his own party. This has forced him to seek a National-Unity government, which has yet to be established as of August of 2004.

Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), stated on June 10, 2004:

I welcome the Israeli Prime Minister's proposals for disengagement from Gaza. This represents an opportunity to restart the implementation of the Road Map, as endorsed by the UN Security Council.

On July 25, 2004, the "Human Chain", a rally of tens of thousands of Israelis to protest against Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 from the Gaza Strip took place. The protestors formed a human chain from Nisanit (later moved to Erez crossing because of security concerns) in the Gaza Strip to the Western Wall in Jerusalem a distance of 90 km. [1] (http://news.walla.co.il/?w=//575213)

On September 14, 2004, the Israeli cabinet approved plans to compensate settlers who are due to leave the Gaza Strip in 9-1 majority, where only Mafdal's Zvulon Orlev is against. [2] (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/mideast_israel_gaza)

On September 15, 2004, a survey published in Maariv showed the following results:

• 69% support a general referendum to decide on the plan. Only 26% that approval in the Knesset will be enough.
• If a referendum will be held, 58% will vote for the disengagement plan, while 29% will vote against it.

(Maariv) (http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART/783/670.html) , [3] (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/mideast)

On October 11, 2004, in the opening of the Knesset winter session, Sharon conveyed a speech in which he outlined his plan to start legislation for the disengagement in the begining of November. In a symbolic act, the Knesset voted 53-44 against Sharon's address: the Israeli Labor party voted against, while Mafdal and 10 member of Likud refused to support Sharon in the vote. [4] (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/487729.html)

On October 14, 2004, 100,000 Israelis marched in cities throughout Israel to protest Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan under the slogan "100 cities support Gush Katif and Samaria". (Jerusalem Post) (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1097727859272)

On October 26, 2004, the Knesset approved the plan 67 to 45 with 7 abstentions and 1 member absent. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and three other cabinet ministers from Sharon's ruling Likud government threatened to resign unless Mr. Sharon agreed to hold a national referendum on the plan within 14 days. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6618004)

On November 9, 2004, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lifted his resignation threat, saying "In this new situation [the death of Yasser Arafat], I decided to stay in the government". Following the vote 14 days earlier, and Sharon's subsequent refusal to budge on the referendum issue, the three other cabinet ministers from the Likud party backed down from their threat within days. (Reuters) (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6759419)