Weekly Commentary: The sinister idea behind the evacuation compensation law
Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 3 April, 2008

The idea behind the evacuation compensation law is far more sinister than
simply to divide and conquer the settlers by offering them financial
incentives to leave their homes.

An offer of compensation, it should be emphasized, before negotiations with
the Palestinians are completed and the resulting agreement is approved by
the Knesset and whatever other democratic procedures are established for
confirming such a deal - should it ever be reached (for example, a national
referendum).

But the idea of the evacuation compensation law goes far beyond just trying
to preempt the democratic process.

Its aim is to delegitimize those who remain even more than encourage those
who may leave and in turn justify abandoning them.

"The State is willing to pay them to leave, why should our sons risk heir
lives protecting the crazy ideologues who insist on staying?" the mantra
will go - repeated time and again by the broadcast and print media.

And security will, indeed, be slashed, with an eye towards making life so
precarious that most residents ultimately flee for their lives.

Will this program succeed?

It is far from clear that an evacuation compensation law can pass the
Knesset.

Promoting security deterioration is also hardly a certain formula for
destroying the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. At the start of
Oslo, Shimon Peres explained that the settlers would only be a problem in
the short run. The expectation that the settlers would run for their lives
has not, however, panned out and in fact Jewish population growth rates in
Judea and Samaria have consistently outstripped most areas within the Green
Line.

Trying to pre-empt the democratic decision making process via the enactment
of an evacuation compensation law may please Washington, and it certainly
can be a vehicle for increasing animosity against communities targeted for
abandonment.

But a simple word of caution to the proponents of the legislation is in
order: For over a decade you failed miserably in predicting the consequences
of the policies you have advocated. There is no reason to expect your
analytical skills to be any better at predicting just how such a law, if
indeed passed and implemented, would indeed play out.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il