While such pro-Hevron assertions from a prime minister usually bring cheers from the right-wing public, Hevron Jewish community spokesman Noam Arnon says that Sharon can suddenly make an about-face as he did regarding Jewish Gaza.
Arnon explained: “I would like to judge Sharon favorably and think that he meant what he said, without intending to lie. When he said [in 2003] that the destiny of Netzarim [located in Jewish Gaza] is the destiny of Tel Aviv, he didn’t lie. But he can quickly say that his perspective has changed, and that what he thought yesterday is not what he thinks today. Just as he turned his back on Gush Katif, he can turn his back on any other place."
MK Yossi Sarid (Yahad), a long time critic of Ariel Sharon from the left, had a quick retort: “Thirty years ago we tried to explain to Sharon not to build in Gaza. He’s a slow learner.”
Some analysts explain that Sharon adopted the opposition party platform of unilateral retreat from Gaza in order to consolidate a consensus for the remaining Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria including Hevron. Arnon rejects this approach as being against moral principles:
“We do not accept this idea under any circumstances. We will be active participants in the struggle [for Gush Katif] and we will not agree to sell out any part of Israel in order to 'buy’ Hevron. That would be immoral.”
Arnon added that the government is doing nothing to encourage more Jews to move to Hevron by building more housing there. Even applications for permits for small improvements go unanswered.
“We are waiting ages for building permits in a Jewish-owned area near Beit Romano. We’ve submitted all the appropriate documents, but have not received a response. We also asked for a permit to build a wall around a courtyard at the Cave of the Patriarchs, in order to allow Jews to pray more comfortably. We submitted plans at great expense…even on this, we haven’t received a response.
“So Sharon’s statement,” Arnon concluded, “is not being backed up in the field. We wish him only to understand that just as the Jewish People have roots in Hevron, they do as well in Gush Katif.”
In attempting to explain why the prime minister has reversed his policy from building Gush Katif to destroying it, Arnon asserts, albeit without citing proof, that Sharon is being extorted by an international crime syndicate.
“He cannot be relied on. In my opinion he’s being extorted by forces in the international underworld. That’s the story behind this expulsion plan. So in the future as well, we can never know how he will respond, or how he will react when confronted by those underworld criminals. There’s no question that those pressures will continue.”
Arnon explained: “I would like to judge Sharon favorably and think that he meant what he said, without intending to lie. When he said [in 2003] that the destiny of Netzarim [located in Jewish Gaza] is the destiny of Tel Aviv, he didn’t lie. But he can quickly say that his perspective has changed, and that what he thought yesterday is not what he thinks today. Just as he turned his back on Gush Katif, he can turn his back on any other place."
MK Yossi Sarid (Yahad), a long time critic of Ariel Sharon from the left, had a quick retort: “Thirty years ago we tried to explain to Sharon not to build in Gaza. He’s a slow learner.”
Some analysts explain that Sharon adopted the opposition party platform of unilateral retreat from Gaza in order to consolidate a consensus for the remaining Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria including Hevron. Arnon rejects this approach as being against moral principles:
“We do not accept this idea under any circumstances. We will be active participants in the struggle [for Gush Katif] and we will not agree to sell out any part of Israel in order to 'buy’ Hevron. That would be immoral.”
Arnon added that the government is doing nothing to encourage more Jews to move to Hevron by building more housing there. Even applications for permits for small improvements go unanswered.
“We are waiting ages for building permits in a Jewish-owned area near Beit Romano. We’ve submitted all the appropriate documents, but have not received a response. We also asked for a permit to build a wall around a courtyard at the Cave of the Patriarchs, in order to allow Jews to pray more comfortably. We submitted plans at great expense…even on this, we haven’t received a response.
“So Sharon’s statement,” Arnon concluded, “is not being backed up in the field. We wish him only to understand that just as the Jewish People have roots in Hevron, they do as well in Gush Katif.”
In attempting to explain why the prime minister has reversed his policy from building Gush Katif to destroying it, Arnon asserts, albeit without citing proof, that Sharon is being extorted by an international crime syndicate.
“He cannot be relied on. In my opinion he’s being extorted by forces in the international underworld. That’s the story behind this expulsion plan. So in the future as well, we can never know how he will respond, or how he will react when confronted by those underworld criminals. There’s no question that those pressures will continue.”