Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe “Bogey” Ya'alon, who is eighth on Likud's Knesset list, opened the first session of the three-day Jerusalem Conference by outlining a new strategy for Israel: no more retreats.
Ya'alon pointed to a disconnection from reality in Israel's strategic thinking. “Did the Arabs recognize us before the Six Day War? We wanted peace in exchange for territories, but we received terror for territories. And when we exited Gaza unilaterally, we received rockets for territory..."
The former Chief of Staff pooh-poohed the claim that the retreats were forced upon Israel by United States: “The United States did not pressure Israel to go to Oslo, or to carry out the Disengagement, or to do what it did last year with the Syrian president. There is a blurring here also. I think that after September 2000 we should have stopped and said – 'we've tried two states for two peoples, let's try something else.'”
Ya'alon pointed to a disconnection from reality in Israel's strategic thinking. “Did the Arabs recognize us before the Six Day War? We wanted peace in exchange for territories, but we received terror for territories. And when we exited Gaza unilaterally, we received rockets for territory..."
The former Chief of Staff pooh-poohed the claim that the retreats were forced upon Israel by United States: “The United States did not pressure Israel to go to Oslo, or to carry out the Disengagement, or to do what it did last year with the Syrian president. There is a blurring here also. I think that after September 2000 we should have stopped and said – 'we've tried two states for two peoples, let's try something else.'”