Gaza

For the past few days the news has been full of Israelis being forced to abandon their settlements on the Gaza Strip. While I feel saddened at these people having to leave their homes there are other considerations.

First we must consider why they are there. International law forbids a country from forcibly annexing conquered land. That was the cause of the first Gulf War.

As part of the peace process, Israel promised to withdraw from occupied land which will become a Palestinian state. The whole purpose of the settlements is to keep this from happening.

There are a couple of schools of thought on this. One says that Israel conquered these lands so it should get to keep it. The other says that the original boarders of Israel were too small and could not be defended. By keeping the occupied land as a buffer, Israel is safer. Neither of these is convincing.

There are also some realities. Gaza has 1.5 million Palestinians and a few thousand Israelis. The settlers are too outnumbered. Defending them is almost impossible and is a huge drain on the military. Also, the settlements have been a sore point in Israel's international relations for decades. They infuriate US presidents and incite anti-semitism in the rest of the world.

Keeping all of this in mind, it is easy to see why the settlers must go.

The only problem is that it appears to be a victory for the terrorists. Hamas is celebrating it as a great victory and it is hard to argue with this viewpoint.

So Israel will be easier to defend but the terrorists have proof that their strategy is working. Is this a good thing or a bad one?