In an editorial earlier this month, the Jordan Times questioned whether Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza is "just a ploy meant to temporarily appease the international community while he conjures up ways of avoiding giving back any land."
As the Times editors explained "the Israeli Cabinet decision was won by only a 14 to 7 vote and after a marathon debate," which "gives rise to added doubt about the real intent of Sharon."
In fact, even as accepted, the editorial stated: "It is certainly no big concession that the Israeli government has decided to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The intended withdrawal will not be completed before the end of 2005, and, worse still, the four-stage plan is contingent on several conditions and circumstances that can freeze the continuation of the pullout scheme. The end of 2005 is so far away that it makes any euphoria about the plan premature."
Because, according to the Jordan Times, "the eruption of the second Intifada [was caused by] the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands." Therefore, the article went on to warn that "the projected Israeli withdrawal only from the Gaza Strip and in protracted stages will only add fuel to Palestinian frustration."
With a little problem in the mathematics department, the editors went on to write, "If his government is split in half on a withdrawal plan as meek as the one just approved, what will be in store when time comes for a complete withdrawal from the rest of the Palestinian territories?"
As the Times editors explained "the Israeli Cabinet decision was won by only a 14 to 7 vote and after a marathon debate," which "gives rise to added doubt about the real intent of Sharon."
In fact, even as accepted, the editorial stated: "It is certainly no big concession that the Israeli government has decided to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The intended withdrawal will not be completed before the end of 2005, and, worse still, the four-stage plan is contingent on several conditions and circumstances that can freeze the continuation of the pullout scheme. The end of 2005 is so far away that it makes any euphoria about the plan premature."
Because, according to the Jordan Times, "the eruption of the second Intifada [was caused by] the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands." Therefore, the article went on to warn that "the projected Israeli withdrawal only from the Gaza Strip and in protracted stages will only add fuel to Palestinian frustration."
With a little problem in the mathematics department, the editors went on to write, "If his government is split in half on a withdrawal plan as meek as the one just approved, what will be in store when time comes for a complete withdrawal from the rest of the Palestinian territories?"