Ariel Sharon's Folly and Reader Comments
Reader comment on item: The Forcible Removal of Israelis from Gaza

Submitted by Jacob Slabiak (United States), Apr 11, 2005 at 18:54

I see ethnic cleansing occurring in Gaza, albeit in a twisted way. The Sharon Goverment acting complicitly with Palestinian demands to remove Israeli citizens and legal residents from the disputed areas to accommodate Palestinians' demand for exclusive presence and possession -- all of this in its quest for statehood. This is not limited to Gaza for it holds equal force in the West Bank. It is and has remained the Palestinians' wish to remove each and every Jew and non-Arab from the area.

To me, this is classic ethnic cleansing but performed by a surrogate state partner. I am amazed that the world does not accuse the Palestinians and the Israelis of ethnic cleansing crimes, the former for its policy demand, and the latter for implementing such demand. All residents should be allowed to stay and decide for themselves which state they want to be part of. A call from any group of people or state to remove other people with distinct character is a call for ethnic cleansing.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.