The 2005 evacuation of Jewish settlements in Gaza was "utter nonsense", Israel Defense Forces General (Res.) Yiftach Ron-Tal, commander of ground troops during the disengagement, said Thursday. "Today it is clear to everybody, that what at the time was an argument over a difficult event, was utter nonsense from a security perspective," he told IDF Army Radio, a day before the fourth anniversary of the disengagement on the Hebrew calendar.
"I opposed it from the deepest meaning of the word opposition - from a security aspect, from a religious aspect and from a national aspect." He said he participated without hesitation in the disengagement. "I suffered and didn't sleep at night, but the decision was completely wholehearted. In my opinion, the alternative for the people of Israel was even worse."