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'Nixing pullout will boost Israel-US relations'
By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff

July 4th, 2005

Drawing on the results of a recent public opinion poll, as well as his intimate knowledge of President George W. Bush's conservative constituency, Israeli Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday boldly stated that canceling Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria might actually boost relations between Israel and the US.

“Our situation may improve if [Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan] is not implemented,” Netanyahu told his fellow ministers.

Netanyahu's comment came during a stormy cabinet discussion over a proposal to delay the pullout until November, a move Sharon termed diplomatically “dangerous” to Israel.

The prime minister maintains his plan to forcibly expel the Jewish residents of Gaza and northern Samaria has won Israel needed relief from international pressure and an unprecedented strengthening of ties with the Jewish state's top ally, the United States of America.

But Netanyahu attempted to direct the government's attention to the will of the American people, particularly the conservative Christian sector of American society, which by and large was responsible for both of Bush's electoral victories.

A public opinion poll carried out last month by McLaughlin & Associates on behalf of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) showed an overwhelming percentage of Americans oppose uprooting Jews from Gaza and Samaria.

Asked if they “support or oppose Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from a section of Gaza and Northern Samaria,” some 63 percent of respondents answered in the negative.

Fifty percent of Americans said “this Gaza plan sends a message that Arab terrorism is being rewarded,” while only 28 percent believe the opposite.

ZOA President Morton Klein said the poll “exposes the myth that Americans support the Gaza/Northern Samaria Withdrawal/Expulsion Plan.”

“Americans realize that it's a bad deal for Israel to make these major concessions without getting anything in return,” noted Klein. “They also understand that this rewards the Hamas and Fatah suicide bombing terrorists whose counterparts are killing Americans every day in Iraq.”

At Sunday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu also challenged claims that nixing the disengagement would put an end to the economic growth his financial reforms had engendered.

“Peace can contribute to [economic] growth, but there are countries that have peace and no economic growth,” said Neyanyahu, pointing out that in Israel the ill-fated Oslo peace process had initially resulted in huge economic gains, only end in economic disaster amid unrelenting Islamic terrorism.

At an economic conference in Caesarea last week, Arutz 7 quoted the finance minister as saying security was the most important factor for economic growth.

“Tourists come to Israel when buses don't blow up in the street, not because there will be or will not be disengagement.”

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