Alexander V. KRYLOV

Moscow State Institute of International Relations

Assistant Professor

In August 2005, implementation of Ariel Sharon's plan for unilateral disengagement with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which involved evacuation of army units and Jewish settlements from the region, was finished. For the first time in its history Israel agreed to tear down settlements located in Palestinian territories.

The progress of Sharon's plan was extremely difficult. In the May 2004 referendum of Likud supporters, almost 60% of members of the Prime Minister's party voted against parting with Gaza. Ariel Sharon even had to form a coalition with the opposition Labor Party (Avoda) since it was obvious that the Cabinet of Ministers in its former composition would vote the disengagement plan down. The five votes cast against leaving Gaza during the governmental voting came from Likud members, including Benjamin Netanyahu

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(ex-Prime Minister, the then Finance Minister). Natan Sharansky, Minister of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, resigned in protest. Ephraim Eitam, Knesset member representing the National Religious Party (Mafdal), who had until recently headed the Ministry of Housing and Construction, even moved to an Israeli settlement in Gaza in an act of defiance.

Mass demonstrations against liquidation of Jewish settlements in Gaza rallied dozens of thousands of Israelis. One of these protest actions turned into a 90-km live chain from the Gush Katif roadblock to Jerusalem. The Council of Jewish settlements in Gaza and West Bank (Yesha) launched a large-scale civil disobedience campaign against Sharon's plan. In some settlements, Israeli soldiers had to use force against supporters of right and ultra-religious parties who would not accept withdrawal from Gaza.

Despite the protests, evacuation of Israeli army outposts and settlements from Gaza was conducted as scheduled. However, the prospects of complete realization of the Prime Minister's plan, which also envisages liquidation of a number of settlements in the West Bank, are still vague. Resistance within Israel itself may turn out to be too fierce. At any rate, it is already clear that Gaza problems remain an important integral element of the Middle East settlement process, and their adequate understanding requires knowledge of both the Gaza Strip's history and key aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation in the context of current dramatic events.

Gaza geography

The flat sandy Gaza region represents a thin strip of land extending from the north of the Sinai peninsula to the Israeli Mediterranean

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coast. Gaza derives its contemporary name from the ancient port of Aza (Hebrew) or al-Gazzah (Arabic) which was situated at the strategic road intersection at the junction of Africa, Asia and Europe. Physically, the Gaza Strip differs from the Sinai and Negev deserts adjoining it. A mild climate, plentiful ground waters and fertile soil have for thousands of years favored development of agriculture in the region. Gaza dwellers have also traditionally engaged in fishing and cattle breeding. Major cities of the Gaza Strip (Gaza, Bayt Hanun, Dayr al Balah, Khan Yunis, Rafah, Suhaylah, 'Abasan) were located at watercourses. The contemporary borders of Gaza started forming when Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire (1516 - 1918) and the territory of the country was divided between four Sanjaks of Damascus, Jerusalem, Nablus and Gaza. Before the First World War, the Sanjak of Gaza was one of the most backward provinces in the Ottoman Empire. It was inhabited by some 10 thousand Palestinian Arabs and Bedouins, as well as about 90 Jews and several dozens of Orthodox Christians.¹ Throughout the British mandate (1918 - 1948), Gaza was the capital of Southern Palestine. Thanks to the British military facilities located here, highways were built all around the region, and dozens of small factories producing plant oil, soap, crockery, cotton and linen cloths and food products were opened in towns. By 1948, the Arab population had increased to 40 thousand.² During the first Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948 - 1949, the Gaza Strip was annexed by the Egyptian army, and this area, which was turned over to Egyptian control under the Rhodes armistice agreement, actually represents the Gaza Strip in its contemporary borders. It

¹ Еврейская энциклопедия, изд. Брокгауза и Ефрона (1908 - 1913), раздел "Газа".

² М. Харэль, Д. Нир, "Эрец Исраэль": географический очерк. Иерусалим, 1976, с. 181

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has an area of 363 sq. km, it is about 50 km long, and its width varies between 5.5 km in the narrowest point (near Dayr al Balah) and 14 km in the widest point (near Khan Yunis). The border with Israel is 51 km long, and the border with Egypt is 11 km long.

Gaza history

Gaza was referred to as a strong fortress in the south of Canaan in ancient Egyptian El Amarna letters (15th - 14th centuries B. C.), Assyrian chronicles (8th century B. C.), Old Testament Books (Gen. 10:19; Deut. 2:23). The earliest inhabitants of Gaza were Canaanite tribes of avvim and anakim that vanished following the capture of the city by the Philistines in the 12th century B. C. (Josh 11:32), who are named in Egyptian sources among peoples of the Aegean Sea basin. The rise of the Philistine pentapolis (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath) falls on the end of the second millennium B. C. when it was the major center of Mediterranean and South Arabian trade - its main advantages were, on one hand, the convenient access to the sea and, on the other hand, the location at the intersection of caravan tracks from Egypt to Phoenicia, Canaan and Syria.

Formally, Gaza was taken over by the peoples of Judah following the invasion of Israelite tribes into Canaan in the 13th century B. C. - however, according to biblical sources, the city remained under control of the Philistines even in the Period of the Judges (approximately 1250 - 1025 B. C.) and during the rise of Israel under King Solomon (965 - 928 B. C.). According to Biblical tradition, Gaza was the place of heroic deeds and death of legendary Samson (Judg 16:1). Muslims still believe his grave is located on the Muntar mountain to the southeast of Gaza.

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During wars between Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, Gaza served, in the first place, as a strategic point that was repeatedly captured by Egyptian pharaohs and Assyrian-Babylonian kings. In the years of Persian rule (529 - 332 B. C.), a strong fortress was built in Gaza that became the only point of serious opposition to armies of Alexander the Great. During the Hellenistic period, Gaza becomes a large transit port and an important outpost for the entire Eastern Mediterranean region. In 96 B. C., Judaic king Yanai razed Gaza - however, the city was quickly restored by Roman invaders in the beginning of the Common Era. Father Jerome (330 - 419), one of the founders of the Christian church, describes Gaza as a large and well-fortified city inhabited by pagans. After the conquest of Palestine by Arabs in 638, Jews were allowed to settle in Gaza. Well-preserved remnants of a large synagogue near the ancient harbor can still be seen here. All Jews abandoned the city after it was captured by crusaders in the beginning of the 12th century. In 1170, the Arab warlord Salah-ad-Din fought Gaza back and rebuilt the fortified port city. In the 15th century, Jewish travelers Meshulam of Volterra and Ovadia de Bertinoro reported there were Jews living among Arabs in Gaza, engaged in winegrowing. In the Middle Ages, the city became a center of Jewish Cabbala mystics who had fled here from persecutions in Europe. Before the seizure of Gaza by the Napoleon army, it had been abandoned by all Jews. At the start of the 20th century, only several Jewish families lived in the city. By 1929, there was not a single Jew remaining in Gaza, as a result of pogroms by Arab nationalists in some Palestinian cities, which took place in the course of anti-British disturbances.

Following the first Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948 - 1949, the sector attained a particular geopolitical importance, becoming an object

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of armed confrontation between Israel and Egypt for over twenty years.

In 1956, Israeli forces supported by Great Britain and France occupied Gaza in response to the nationalization of the Suez channel and the naval blockade of Israel. Under pressure from international community - in the first place, the USSR and USA, Gaza was soon returned to the control of Egypt. The following ten years were a period of unceasing armed confrontation on the Egyptian-Israeli border. In the course of the 1967 war, Israel occupied Gaza. Within a short period of time, Gaza became fully economically dependent upon Israel, which keeps on supplying Gaza with electrical power, oil products, construction materials and potable water. Israeli shekel became the main currency here. All Gaza export and import operations are conducted through Israel's territory. The Israeli industrial zones near the "Erez" and "Karni" border crossings provide jobs for several dozens of thousands of Palestinians. The financing of development projects by the European Union and UN, as well as the delivery of humanitarian supplies for refugees are also done through Israel.

At the same time, all attempts of the Israeli military administration to move people out of refugee camps in Gaza and alleviate their social and economic situation ended in failure. Palestinians' discontent with the Israeli occupation, the underdeveloped economy of the Gaza Strip, and preservation of refugee problems stimulated mass anti-Israel disturbances among Palestinians. The political and ideological organizations that emerged in their midst also demonstrated an explicit anti-Israel posture. The policy of "tying" Gaza to Israel got bogged down as far

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back as the mid-1970s, when, against the background of constantly growing tensions in relations with the Palestinians, Israeli authorities commenced construction of a blind and impenetrable fence along the border with Gaza.

During the Camp David negotiations (1977 - 1978), the Israeli government was ready to return Gaza to Egyptian control yet Anwar Saddat avoided discussion of the subject.

In 1987, the first Intifada broke out, turning Gaza into a stronghold of Palestinian militants and Islamic fundamentalist groups, which, obviously, made many Israeli politicians doubt the necessity of continuing to hold on to the Gaza Strip. In May 1994, the leaders of Israel and PLO signed a Cairo declaration on introduction of a limited self-government in Gaza and Jericho area (the West Bank). Under the accord, the Palestinian Administration would be responsible for the Arab population, while Israel would retain control over the settlements. Most Israeli troops left Gaza. Under the second Norwegian agreement (Oslo II, December 1995), a major portion of Gaza was included in zone "A", i. e. the area under full control of PNA (Palestinian National Authority) headed by Yasser Arafat. This was another step towards separation of Gaza from Israel.

Negotiations between Israel and PLO on the final status of Gaza continued until 2003. However, the regular raids of Israeli troops deep within the territory, aimed at liquidation of militants and their weapons manufacture and storage bases, the isolation of PNA leader Yasser Arafat lasting until his death in November 2004, the escalation of activities of Palestinian extremists, the worsening of the already tight situation of the refugees - all of these forced the Israeli government to seek

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political ways out of the crisis. Thus Sharon's staff came up with a unilateral disengagement plan, envisaging liquidation of all Jewish settlements in the sector.

Jewish settlements in Gaza

The first Jewish settlement in Gaza was established back in 1946, that is prior to the foundation of the state of Israel. However, pursuant to the Rhodes armistice agreement, Jewish settlers left the region. Twenty years later, following the Six-day war of 1967, the then Israeli political leadership took the course towards strengthening "Israeli presence" in the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The government's approach to the issue of Gaza was unambiguously expressed by General Izhak Allon, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel (1967 - 1974), who said, "Construction of settlements in the Gaza Strip will have vital consequences for the political future of this area. We need to dissect the Strip to the south of the city of Gaza by a wedge of Israeli settlements".

Up until 2000, all Israeli Cabinets, including those chaired by Izhak Rabin (1974 - 1977; 1992 - 1995), backed up the settlement movement in Gaza. As a result, 21 settlements were established here with a total Jewish population of about 7.5 thousand.

The overwhelming majority of settlers were either right nationalists moved by the idea of creating the "Great Israel", or Orthodox Jews, advocating restoration of the Jewish state within the Biblical borders of "Eretz Israel" (Land of Israel). For many religious Jews, especially those who were born and grew up in Israel, the 1967 war made a reality of what had been previously considered a religious abstraction - the land promised by God was

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once again under the Israeli control, and to surrender it would mean committing a sin. Nationalists, in their turn, justify Jewish presence in the West Bank and Gaza saying that the land has never been part of any Arab state - at least, in the new and modern history. From their point of view, this territory is part of the mandated Palestine, a former province of the Ottoman Empire, that was turned over to Great Britain by the League of Nations under the Balfour Declaration, which promised creation of a "Jewish national home". By the way, in the days when the Declaration was drawn up, Palestine included, besides Gaza and the West Bank, also the East Bank of the Jordan River, i. e. the territory of the present-day state of Jordan.

The Jewish settlements in Gaza were concentrated in three blocks: Gush Katif in the south (30 km to the south of the city of Gaza), Netzarim in the center, and Gush Erez in the north (3 km from the nearest Israeli city of Sederot and 12 km from the large port city of Ashkelon with a population of 100 thousand). The settlers were mostly engaged in agriculture. A majority of settlements specialized in producing ecologically clean food. Gush Katif produced 20% of the total Israeli wholefood. Gaza supplied to Israel 95% of ecologically clean products, with 6% thereof being exported to Europe. Gaza settlements also annually produced 5 million liters of ecologically clean milk. The total annual volume of local agricultural produce amounted to $78 million. Fishing was a supplementary source of income. Some of Jewish settlers worked in Israel, outside the Gaza Strip, as well as in local municipal bodies, educational and health care establishments, etc. A large percentage of the settlers were army regulars, policemen and customs officers.

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Protecting the settlements was a real problem for the Israeli authorities. Gush Katif settlements were on an almost daily basis attacked with mortar shelling and automatic gun fire. Palestinian militants systematically attacked settlers' cars and buses. Supporters of radical Palestinian organizations regularly fired makeshift Kassam missiles at the Israeli territory. Israeli army units were guarding fortified Erez, Karni, Kissufim and Sufa checkpoints linking the Gaza settlements with Israel 24 hours a day.

Palestinians in Gaza

The Arab population of Gaza rapidly increased in the course of Arab-Israeli conflicts due to inflow of refugees and the traditionally high birth rate among local Palestinians. During the first Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948 - 1949, according to information of UN commissions, about 190 thousand refugees fled to the Gaza Strip, while the local population amounted to only 70 thousand (excluding the Bedouins who, according to various estimates, numbered 11 to 22 thousand).³ During the wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973 the number of Palestinian refugees in the sector doubled.⁴ The current demographic situation in Gaza may be described as critical. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in 2004 the population of the eight Palestinian camps in Gaza reached 468 thousand, whereas the number of Palestinians registered by UNRWA representative offices in Gaza totaled 952 thousand.⁵ As of 2005, the PNA Central Bureau of Statistics estimated overall Gaza population at 1.41 million; according to the Israel Central Department of

³ М. Харэль, Д. Нир, "Эрец Исраэль": географический очерк. Иерусалим, 1976, с. 184.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ UNWRA Medium Term Plan 2005 - 2009, N. Y, 2004, p. 7.

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Statistics, it numbered 1.2 million (98.7% Muslims, 0.7% Christians, and 0.6% Jews).⁶

The Arab population of Gaza gets doubled every 16 - 17 years. Palestinians living here have one of the world's highest birth rates - 3.83% (42.7 per 1,000). The mean age of the population is 15.5 years. The population density is as high as 3,000 per 1 sq. km. - however, considering that Jewish settlements occupied 15% of the total area, the actual population density before the evacuation reached 5,000 per 1 sq. km., which is among the world's highest. The relatively small territory of Gaza currently houses about one fourth of all Palestinian refugees. Their numbers are only comparable to those of Jordan, where basically the same number of refugees was registered (about 951,000, or 23% of the total Palestinian refugees).

The precipitous growth of the Arab population in Gaza quickly exhausted its economic opportunities. Only 34% of employable population are currently employed in agriculture and production of goods of prime necessity. The rest are largely engaged in the services sector. According to Israeli sources, the level of unemployment in Gaza exceeds 34%. World Bank experts believe the unemployment rate is considerably higher in Gaza, reaching about 50%, whereas youth unemployment in peripheral areas may be as high as 70%. Almost 60% of the population are below the poverty line, having an income less than $2 per day, - in other words, are utterly destitute. According to World Bank statistics, since the start of the Second intifada in 2000, Palestinian economy has lost about $5 billion, which is equivalent to the PNA's annual revenue in 1999.

⁶ Palestinian Central Bureau of statistics, Summary statistics, Gaza Strip, 2005; Statistical Abstract of Israel, Jerusalem, 2005.

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The Gaza Strip annually exported $600 million worth of goods (mostly citrus fruits, plant oils, vegetables, flowers). The cost of imports stood at $1.9 billion. It is obvious that the area cannot exist without financial and humanitarian help from outside. The annual assistance amounts to $2 billion, being provided primarily by the UN, the European Union and some Arab countries. A major part of the amount is spent on energy resources supplied from Israel. A group of American researchers from the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies, analyzing the present status of Gaza economy, came up with a discouraging conclusion: without large additional social-economic support and investment programs, Gaza is doomed to financial bankruptcy and economic chaos.

Sharon's plan

The idea of turning Gaza Strip over to the Palestinian Authority dates back to the early 1980s. In May 1980, Haim Ramon, leader of the youth wing of the Labor Party ("Avoda"), and the party's press spokesman Yossi Beilin elaborated a political program in which the slogan "Gaza first" made its first appearance. The program said, in particular, "One should positively react to the proposed introduction of autonomy as an interim form of settlement in the Gaza Strip... If the plan "Gaza first" is realized, preservation of Israeli control in vital areas of the Gaza Strip should be guaranteed".

Even though various versions of the "Gaza first" concept were later discussed on the highest political level in Israel, attracting increasing numbers of supporters (among others, Ministers Avraham Katz-Oz representing "Avoda" and Ronni Milo from "Likud"), the main political figures who determined Israel's

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external policy (Menachem Begin, Izhak Shamir, Izhak Rabin, Shimon Peres), had not shown special interest in it prior to the signing of the "Oslo-1" Accord in September 1993.

Under the Norwegian Accords, Israel in 1995 withdrew from about 85% of the Gaza Strip territory, reserving the right to fully control its borders and the sites of Jewish settlements. The borders of the Gaza Strip and Jewish settlements were protected by a division under the Southern Command, which included the Givati Brigade, a Druze-Beduin reconnaissance battalion ("Gdud a-Siour a-Midbari"), regular tank and engineering units, as well as reservist units on temporary duty. These borders were surrounded along the entire perimeter by wire entanglements, equipped with monitoring systems. In the Arab portion of the Gaza Strip, however, armed PNA units, as well as armed groups of radical Islamist organizations, quickly grew in the years of autonomous existence. Palestinian refugee camps turned into centers for recruitment and training of militants and suicide bombers.

Proponents of a compromise settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict united around the current PNA leader Mahmoud Abbas, who was in those years better known under the pseudonym Abu Mazen. In 1995, he together with Yossi Beilin elaborated a political document, "Framework for the conclusion of a final status agreement between Israel and the PLO" (the "Beilin - Abu Mazen plan"). In the document, among other things, it was proposed to liquidate a major portion of Jewish settlements except the ones located in the area of Gush Etzion (Hebron Hills) and around Jerusalem. It was also supposed that Israel would not only fully withdraw from Gaza but would also turn over to the Palestinians deserted lands in the northern part of Negev as compensation for

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preservation of these settlement blocks. Notably, the framework agreement on the final settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which ex-Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak (1999 - 2001) unsuccessfully tried to reach, to a large extent copied provisions of the "Beilin - Abu Mazen plan" in the part dealing with the Gaza Strip.

Even though the "Likud" government headed by Ariel Sharon came to power in March 2001 largely thanks to its criticism of and opposition to the framework agreement with the Palestinians, which was objectively unpopular among the Israelis, the formula "Gaza first", in one form or another, dominated foreign policy concepts of all governments headed by the current Prime Minister of Israel. Thus Shimon Peres who occupied the Foreign Minister's post in the "national unity government" (2001 - 2002) initiated the idea of creating a demilitarized Palestinian state in accordance with the concept "Gaza first", and the West Bank, later on. Palestinian leaders, however, rejected this initiative, not only because it led to a factual separation of Gaza from the other territories within the Palestine Autonomy, but also because Peres' plan envisaged a strict US and Israeli control over the demilitarized Palestinian entity in Gaza.

In essence, Sharon's plan represents just another version of the same "Gaza first" project, reanimated after numerous adjustments.

Arguments "in favor" and "against" unilateral disengagement

Opponents of the unilateral disengagement plan declared that Gaza is an integral element of Jewish history. Its loss is equal to separation of Jewish statehood from its vital national and religious

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values. Israeli settlements in Gaza represent a symbol of continuity and integrity of Jewish history.

Opponents of Sharon's plan⁷ regarded Gaza as the gate used by all invaders in "Eretz Israel", so for them the loss of this territory was going to deprive Israel of its strategic advantage. Retaining Gaza enabled Israel to effectively control the hostile border with the Palestinians, contain terrorists' mobility, counteract militants' raids with minimal losses, thwart suicide bomber recruitment and training in early stages, counter weapon production and smuggling in. Before withdrawal from Gaza, just a few settlements in the Israeli territory had been within reach of Palestinian "Qassam" missiles, yet now dozens of Israeli towns, including Ashkelon, may fall within the firing limits.

All attempts to grant independence to the Palestinians in Gaza are doomed to failure. The economy of Gaza is so greatly dependent on Israel that it cannot develop separately. Assistance from international charity organizations is unable to settle the numerous socio-economic problems, no more than the Palestinian leadership, torn by internal contradictions. Withdrawal of Israeli army units and settlements from Gaza will inevitably result in an atmosphere of absolute anarchy and chaos.

Sharon's opponents are untiringly reminding that the costs of realization of his plan are way above the government expenditures for the maintenance of military bases and settlements in Gaza.

⁷ Back in the early 1990s, Ariel Sharon himself opposed withdrawal from Gaza. Criticizing at the time the concept "Gaza first", he, in particular, said, "If we leave Gaza its territory will turn into a launching site for Palestinian missiles that would attack the center of Ashkelon" ("Maariv", 12 June, 1992).

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According to the most conservative estimates, the evacuation from Gaza cost no less than 30 billion shekels. To finance the disengagement plan, the government will need an emergency program of cutting all its expenditures, which will inevitably entail lower economic growth rates, higher unemployment, reduced social allowances and payments, higher taxes, etc. Millions of shekels will also be spent on establishment of new army bases and other facilities necessary to ensure security of border areas.

Sharon's opponents are convinced that, even after the pullout from Gaza the world community, which quite often follows the tastes of the 56 Moslem states, will always find a reason to blame Israel. Neither can it be ruled out that the withdrawal from Gaza may provoke terrorist organizations to more active actions.

Proponents of the unilateral disengagement with the Palestinians in Gaza are, in their turn, convinced that the Israeli tactics of expanding Israeli presence in areas densely populated by Arabs, which have been applied for dozens of years, has not proved its worth in Gaza. Local Palestinians won a complete victory in the "demographic war", whereas the few Jewish settlements were unable to turn into developed urban or agricultural centers - their outward appearance made them more similar to army facilities behind barbed wire. The preservation of Jewish settlements in Gaza, accompanied by perpetual armed clashes with Palestinians, only made them more hostile towards Israel and strengthened positions of radical Islamist groups that wield enormous influence among local population. Thus in the latest municipal elections held in January 2005, members of HAMAS and other organizations

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which are customarily referred to as "terrorist" in Israel, got 91 out of 118 seats in ten administrative councils. Fatah, headed by the current PNA president Mahmoud Abbas, obtained only 28 seats. Hence comes a conclusion - pumping financial and other resources into Gaza only helped to directly or indirectly strengthen forces resisting Israeli presence. Therefore, the best way out would be to withdraw from Gaza, just like Israeli troops were in May 2000 pulled out of the so called security area in South Lebanon, reserving the right to an adequate response if the enemy violates the Israeli border.

Another key argument of unilateral disengagement advocates was that it was not worthwhile to "keep" 7.5 thousand Jewish settlers in the midst of the more than a million-strong Palestinian population in Gaza. According to the Haaretz daily (22 September 2003), every settler annually costs the Israeli Treasury 10,000 shekels (over USD2,000), plus expenditures on settlement protection and security measures, i. e. another almost 500 million shekels. According to information of the same source, Israel every year spent 2.5 billion shekels on maintenance of settlements. Since 1967, a total of around 45 billion shekels has been spent in this way, which amounts to 10 - 15% of the country's GDP. Continuing to support the settlement policy on the same level would be a heavy burden on Israeli economy.

Finally, an important argument in favor of withdrawal from Gaza is that, in contrast to the West Bank where Israel only starts erection of security barriers, the borders of Gaza are already well enough fortified, and all possible routes for Palestinian militant raids are safely blocked. Sharon's plan envisages the use of military

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force in the event that Israeli territory is attacked with "Qassam" missiles. The critical area of "Philadelphi Route"⁸ , under the disengagement plan, remains under Israeli military control.

* * *

The major outcome of the Israeli settlement movement of 1967 - 2000 is the radical alteration of the West Bank and Gaza Strip map. Today, all compromise solutions of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should take into consideration opinions of the settlers and hundreds of thousands of Israelis who back them up. Paradoxically, while people in many countries of the world believe that Jewish settlements are an obstacle in the way towards a Middle East settlement, most Israelis, whose outlook is influenced by a perpetual confrontation with their Arab neighbors, associate these settlements with front line outposts, which help neutralizing the threat of armed terrorist incursions within Israel's "internal" regions.

⁸ The "Philadelphi route (corridor)" is a narrow strip of land along the border between Gaza Strip and Egypt. The corridor, which includes a highway, a track control strip along the border, and concrete and wire obstacles, is 11 km long and 50 to 100 m wide. The corridor is regularly patrolled by Israeli armored personnel carriers. Despite this, the "Philadelphi route" has for a long time been used by smugglers bringing weapons, ammunition, drugs, cigarettes, etc. from Egypt to Gaza. Smugglers are time and again digging out underground tunnels, 10 to 13 m deep. Ventilation is conducted through special imperceptible tubes that are brought outside. Prior to implementation of the unilateral disengagement plan, the "Philadelphi route" area had been shelled by Palestinian militants on an almost daily basis.

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