'For Arabs, pullout is terror's prize'
Top member of leftist Labor Party sees the light--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While clinging to the discredited idea that Israel's Jewish majority is threatened by retaining Judea and Samaria, leading Labor Party member Isaac Herzog expressed grave concern last week that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's "convergence" plan will be perceived by the Arabs as a victory for their terrorist onslaught.
Speaking to Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper Friday, the son of revered former president Haim Herzog warned regarding Olmert's intention to surrender so much land:
"One must not ignore the feeling that a prize for terror is created as a result of such processes... Some viewpoints on the Palestinian side consider such unilateral actions as a prize for terror and this is problematic."
Herzog said his "serious doubts on this matter" stem from the clear fact that last summer's "disengagement" from Gaza and northern Samaria was seen by the "Palestinians" as a victory following nearly five years of terrorist warfare, leading the Arabs to overwhelmingly vote in the very terrorists responsible for the lion's share of the violence as their leaders.
"Today it is already clear that one of the reasons for the victory of Hamas in the elections was the interpretation of part of the Muslim world of the disengagement."
Nor are the "Palestinians" alone in seeing Israel's withdrawals in this light.
"This is exactly what the President of Iran was talking about when he compared Israel to a rotting tree that can collapse in one fell swoop."
Herzog's remarks echoed those of many to the right of the political spectrum, including Likud Party leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who have been pointing out for years that Israel's relinquishing of land in accordance with Muslim demands only encourages aggression against what is seen as a weakening Jewish state.
Herzog scored an upset in Labor's recent primary elections, securing the number two spot on the party's Knesset list behind party chairman Amir Peretz. He serves as minister of tourism in the new government.