"I think that the unilateral disengagement is a very, very unwise move," Amidror said, "one that will cause us very great harm in the near future, and even more damage in the long run. Arafat's death shows exactly how unwise it is: The world community [will now] come to Israel and said, 'Look, Arafat is dead, Bush has been re-elected, and what are you willing to give in order to advance the peace process?'
"We could have said that we would make a very dramatic and momentous sacrifice in Gaza - but now that we announced our intention to do so several months ago, the world tells us, 'Great, you've already given up on Gaza, what else can you give us?' Arafat's death simply proves to us how unwise this was. In addition, the security dangers that I have listed in the past have not been reduced, and I think that we are going to regret this move very much."
Asked about the demographic dangers of remaining in Gaza, in that the Arab population in Gaza of approximately one million endangers the Jewish majority in Israel, Amidror said, "This is a very grave issue and they must be taken into account in all future agreements. But this doesn't mean that we should retreat in the middle of the war, thus leaving the impression that terrorism can defeat us. But this will, in fact, be the result of a unilateral retreat from Gaza."
Asked if he has confidence that Abu Mazen will be able to contain terrorism, Amidror refused to predict: "If he carries out the concrete actions necessary, such as arresting leaders and collecting the weapons, then he will prove himself to be a partner with whom we will have to sit down for serious negotiations. We have to give him the chance."
"We could have said that we would make a very dramatic and momentous sacrifice in Gaza - but now that we announced our intention to do so several months ago, the world tells us, 'Great, you've already given up on Gaza, what else can you give us?' Arafat's death simply proves to us how unwise this was. In addition, the security dangers that I have listed in the past have not been reduced, and I think that we are going to regret this move very much."
Asked about the demographic dangers of remaining in Gaza, in that the Arab population in Gaza of approximately one million endangers the Jewish majority in Israel, Amidror said, "This is a very grave issue and they must be taken into account in all future agreements. But this doesn't mean that we should retreat in the middle of the war, thus leaving the impression that terrorism can defeat us. But this will, in fact, be the result of a unilateral retreat from Gaza."
Asked if he has confidence that Abu Mazen will be able to contain terrorism, Amidror refused to predict: "If he carries out the concrete actions necessary, such as arresting leaders and collecting the weapons, then he will prove himself to be a partner with whom we will have to sit down for serious negotiations. We have to give him the chance."