[IMRA: Before PM SHaron delivered his statement commentators on Israel Radio
expressed the hope that he would finally explain the logic behind his move.
Unfortunately, Mr. Sharon instead opted to proclaim that "Gaza cannot be
held onto forever" without explaining why "forever" suddenly became 2005.].

PM Sharon's Statement on the Day of the Implementation of the Disengagement
Plan
Translation
15/08/2005
www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/PMSpeaks/speech150805.htm

Citizens of Israel,

The day has arrived. We are beginning the most difficult and painful step
of all - evacuating our communities from the Gaza Strip and Northern
Samaria.

This step is very difficult for me personally. It was with a heavy heart
that the Government of Israel made the decision regarding Disengagement, and
the Knesset did not lightly approve it.

It is no secret that I, like many others, believed and hoped that we could
forever hold on to Netzarim and Kfar Darom. However, the changing reality
in this country, in this region, and in the world, required another
reassessment and changing of positions.

Gaza cannot be held onto forever. Over one million Palestinians live there,
and they double their numbers with every generation. They live in
incredibly cramped refugee camps, in poverty and squalor, in hotbeds of
ever-increasing hatred, with no hope whatsoever on the horizon.

It is out of strength and not weakness that we are taking this step. We
tried to reach agreements with the Palestinians which would move the two
peoples towards the path of peace. These were crushed against a wall of
hatred and fanaticism.

The unilateral Disengagement Plan, which I announced approximately two years
ago, is the Israeli answer to this reality. This Plan is good for Israel in
any future scenario. We are reducing the day-to-day friction and its
victims on both sides. The IDF will redeploy on defensive lines behind the
Security Fence. Those who continue to fight us will meet the full force of
the IDF and the security forces.

Now the Palestinians bear the burden of proof. They must fight terror
organizations, dismantle its infrastructure and show sincere intentions of
peace in order to sit with us at the negotiating table.

The world awaits the Palestinian response - a hand offered in peace or
continued terrorist fire. To a hand offered in peace, we will respond with
an olive branch. But if they chose fire, we will respond with fire, more
severe than ever.

The Disengagement will allow us to look inward. Our national agenda will
change. In our economic policy we will be free to turn to closing the social
gaps and engaging in a genuine struggle against poverty. We will advance
education and increase the personal security of every citizen in the
country.

The disagreement over the Disengagement Plan has caused severe wounds,
bitter hatred between brothers and severe statements and actions. I
understand the feelings, the pain and the cries of those who object.
However, we are one nation even when fighting and arguing.

Residents of the Gaza Strip, today marks the end of a glorious chapter in
the story of Israel, and a central chapter in the story of your lives as
pioneers, as realizers of a dream and as those who bore the security and
settlement burden for all of us. Your pain and your tears are an
inseparable part of the history of this country. Whatever disagreements we
have, we will not abandon you, and following the evacuation, we will do
everything in our power to rebuild your lives and communities.

I wish to tell the soldiers of the IDF, the police officers of the Israel
Police and Border Police: you face a difficult mission - it's not an enemy
you face, rather your brothers and sisters. Sensitivity and patience are
the order of the hour. I am certain that this is how you will behave. I
want you to know: the entire nation stands behind you and is proud of you.

Citizens of Israel,

The responsibility for the future of Israel rests on my shoulders. I
initiated the Plan because I concluded that this action is vital for Israel.
Believe me, the extent of pain that I feel at this act is equal only to the
measure of resolved recognition that it was something that had to be done.

We are embarking on a new path which has many risks, but also a ray of hope
for all of us.

With the help of G-d, may this path be one of unity and not division, of
mutual respect, and not animosity between brothers, of unconditional love,
and not baseless hatred.

I will do my utmost to ensure that it will be so.