By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
    Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
    Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt hosts InnoXera Summit on education in artificial intelligenceage
    Egypt hosts InnoXera Summit on education in artificial intelligenceage
    June 1, 2023
    Egyptian economy offers great competitive advantage, diversified investment opportunities: Ayman Soliman
    Egyptian economy offers great competitive advantage, diversified investment opportunities: Ayman Soliman
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt's new membership in New Development Bank enhances South-South cooperation: Al-Mashat
    Egypt’s new membership in New Development Bank enhances South-South cooperation: Al-Mashat
    June 1, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Madbouly reaffirms Egypt’s unwavering assistance for Palestine
    Madbouly reaffirms Egypt’s unwavering assistance for Palestine
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt reiterates firm position in support of Palestinian cause: Shoukry
    Egypt reiterates firm position in support of Palestinian cause: Shoukry
    June 1, 2023
    Egypt and France discuss joint cooperation in the health sector
    Egypt and France discuss joint cooperation in the health sector 
    June 1, 2023
    AU praises Egypt's role in achieving sustainable peace in Africa despite challenges
    AU praises Egypt’s role in achieving sustainable peace in Africa despite challenges
    May 31, 2023
    Opinion| Russia and China promote stability in the Middle East after the US withdrawal from the region
    Opinion| Russia and China promote stability in the Middle East after the US withdrawal from the region
    May 31, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    EFG Finance to launch unified platform gathering all its financing services: Alaa Al-Afifi
    EFG Finance to launch unified platform gathering all its financing services: Alaa Al-Afifi
    May 31, 2023
    I changed my artistic path to create ‘state of wonder’: Tarek Lotfi
    I changed my artistic path to create ‘state of wonder’: Tarek Lotfi
    May 25, 2023
    I adore Ramadan drama, ‘Telt Al-Talata’ series achieved great success: Ghada Abdel Razek
    I adore Ramadan drama, ‘Telt Al-Talata’ series achieved great success: Ghada Abdel Razek
    May 8, 2023
    We aim to establish Egypt as nearshore centre for Software AG for MET region: Rami Kichli
    We aim to establish Egypt as nearshore centre for Software AG for MET region: Rami Kichli
    April 29, 2023
    Egypt-Spain relations witness remarkable development in recent years: Spanish ambassador in Cairo
    Egypt-Spain relations witness remarkable development in recent years: Spanish ambassador in Cairo
    April 18, 2023
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: Fight continues 10 years after Israel ‘left’ Gaza
Share
Notification
Latest News
Adding flavour of innovation to F&B industry in Africa
Adding flavour of innovation to F&B industry in Africa 
Women
Egypt’s Women on Boards Indicator records 19.7% in 2022 with 3% growth
Egypt’s Women on Boards Indicator records 19.7% in 2022 with 3% growth
Women
Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
Banking
Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
Business
Egypt hosts InnoXera Summit on education in artificial intelligenceage
Egypt hosts InnoXera Summit on education in artificial intelligenceage
Business
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Region > Fight continues 10 years after Israel ‘left’ Gaza
RegionWorld

Fight continues 10 years after Israel ‘left’ Gaza

Deutsche Welle
Last updated: 2015/08/16 at 12:43 PM
By Deutsche Welle 6 Min Read
Share
SHARE

When Israel’s army withdrew from Gaza in 2005, many hoped that peace would follow. Ten years on, some say the move was a mistake, while others are asking if the occupation, as defined by international law, ever ended.
On August 15, 2005, emotional images of Israeli soldiers made their way around the world as the army forced settlers out of their homes in the Gaza Strip. By the end, Israeli forces had cleared military posts and 21 settlements.

The pullout was supposed to bring peace. Ariel Sharon, the prime minister at the time, promised that the country would be safer if Israelis left Gaza, which it had occupied since 1967.

At the time, missiles were frequently being launched at targets in Israel from the Gaza Strip. And the government in Jerusalem wanted to respond to growing international pressure for a solution to the Middle East conflict with its own initiative.

Sharon forced his Likud party to accept the withdrawal despite considerable resistance. At the time, tens of thousands of Israelis protested the plan.

Grenades and airstrikes

In the end, about 9,000 Israelis were forced to leave their settlements. The army then destroyed most of the buildings. The government promised to provide thorough compensation.

Israelis no longer live on the small coastal strip of land. But militant Palestinian groups continue to launch grenades and missiles at targets in Israel, to which the army responds with attacks from the air.

Since 2005, the conflict has escalated into a state of war four times. In 2014, more than 2,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians, and 73 Israelis, all but six of them soldiers, died in the violence. Israeli bombs have destroyed thousands of homes and large parts of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Although Israel has tight border controls, the Hamas organization, which rules the Palestinian territory, continues to build up its weapons arsenal. Missiles launched by Hamas are now capable of reaching Tel Aviv.

Hong Kong of the Middle East

Now, there is a commonly held view in Israel that the withdrawal was a mistake. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stepped down from his post as finance minister to protest Sharon’s plan in 2005, has said this many times.

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog also said that the withdrawal was “undoubtedly a mistake”: “Our assumption that Gaza would become the Hong Kong of the Middle East after the pullout was wrong.”

According to a survey by the Begin-Sadat Center of Strategic Studies, 63 percent of Israelis think the decision made in 2005 was wrong. “The gap between the hopes and the results is very wide,” said Shmuel Even, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. Like many others, he says the evacuation 10 years ago sowed the seeds for further problems. “It contributed to Hamas’ assuming more power in the Gaza Strip, a significant increase in weapons smuggling, an increase in terrorism and, in turn, the cycle of violence.”

For the 1.8 million people living in the Gaza Strip, there’s also little reason to celebrate. Their daily lives are plagued by poverty, unemployment and frequent battles between militant groups and the Israeli army.

Israel has control

Ten years after the settlements were cleared, there is still controversy over whether Israel’s occupation has even ended. The lawyer Raji Sourani, of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, told the Washington Post newspaper that Gaza is still occupied, and says the United Nations supports this view.

Sourani argues that Israel still effectively controls significant aspects of life in the Gaza Strip as its blockade massively restricts travel and the import and export of goods. For a long time, Palestinians also had difficulties at the border with Egypt because the government in Cairo is also against Hamas.

Israel Ziv, the former commander of the Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip, dismisses Sourani’s view. “Of course Israel does not still occupy Gaza, at least no more than the Egyptians are occupying Gaza,” he told The Washington Post.

When Sharon pulled out settlers and soldiers in 2005, Israel was acting alone. There was no agreement with the Palestinian Authority. Now, one can only wonder how things might have been different if the withdrawal had been presented as a common initiative.

The continuing violence has overshadowed any consideration of a possible evacuation from settlements in the West Bank. According to the security expert Even, it only makes sense to hand back occupied territory in accordance with a political agreement. Should such an agreement ever come to fruition, the retired army general recommends handing over the settlements intact, and not destroying them, as was the case in the Gaza Strip.

You Might Also Like

Madbouly reaffirms Egypt’s unwavering assistance for Palestine

Opinion| Russia and China promote stability in the Middle East after the US withdrawal from the region

Opinion| The American debt crisis and the 2024 elections

Lebanon’s army says frees kidnapped Saudi citizen

Iran-Oman ties enter investment stage, says Iranian president

TAGGED: Gaza, Israel
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Previous Article Russia ‘gifts’ Egypt missile corvette
Next Article NBE studies granting EGP 6bn to 32 large companies
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad image
Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

Adding flavour of innovation to F&B industry in Africa
Adding flavour of innovation to F&B industry in Africa 
Women
Egypt’s Women on Boards Indicator records 19.7% in 2022 with 3% growth
Egypt’s Women on Boards Indicator records 19.7% in 2022 with 3% growth
Women
Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
Suez Canal Bank signs protocol with Chinese TEDA to support investment in SCZone
Banking
Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
Egypt, GIZ sign agreement of €8m to support e-government, innovation in management
Business
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?