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Home > Israel's Disengagement Plan

                                                                                               Updated Nov. 3, 2005

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s proposal for a full Israeli withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank (Judea and Samaria) was referred to as the “disengagement” initiative. The plan involved dismantling the homes and communities of about 9,000 Israelis who had lived in those areas for three decades. The areas that were evacuated included 17 settlements in southern Gaza, known as Gush Katif; four settlements in northern Gaza; and four settlements in the West Bank.

The plan was first introduced (PDF 1.1Mb) during a speech by the prime minister in December 2003 in the city of Herzliya at a conference of top Israeli and international leaders. “Like all Israeli citizens, I yearn for peace,” the prime minister said. “I attach supreme importance to taking all steps which will enable progress toward resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians.”

 Map of Gaza Strip
(full size map)

 Map of the West Bank
(Judea and Samaria)
(full size map)
   

Maps courtesy of  KoretCommunications and  Israel Insider

In the Gaza Strip alone, Israel dismantled 38 synagogues, closed 42 daycare centers and 46 kindergartens, elementary schools and high schools. The evacuation also meant the loss of 10,000 Israeli-created agriculture jobs, half of which were held by Palestinians.

The disengagement plan caused massive economic losses for Israel’s agricultural sector. For example, 60 percent of Israel’s cherry tomato exports had come from Israeli farmland and hothouses in those areas and 70 percent of Israel’s organic produce was grown in Gaza. When Israelis left Gaza as part of the disengagement, they abandoned almost 1,000 acres of greenhouses.

Prime Minister Sharon cited Israel’s willingness to make painful sacrifices for peace, its security and its eminence within the international community as major factors that contributed to his decision to support what many believed was the most significant Israeli initiative for peace in the past two decades. Israeli support for withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank fluctuated, but the majority of Israelis supported the pullout.

Israel gained control of Gaza and parts of the West Bank and other land during a 1967 defensive war after the armies of Syria, Egypt, Jordan and other Arab countries amassed on Israel’s borders. Their stated goal was to wipe out the Jewish state, which is roughly the size of New Jersey.

Israeli Support

According to polls, Israeli rationale in favor of the disengagement initiative included:

  • The withdrawal would help Palestinians more effectively govern themselves and, with the cooperation of the Palestinian leadership, help promote the kind of democratic reforms necessary to establish a lasting peace.
  • The Palestinian leadership had yet to prove itself a fully reliable partner in peace negotiations. As a result, Israel had to initiate some unilateral moves regardless of Palestinian cooperation.
  • Israel would benefit internationally by showing initiative on the peace process.
  • The settlements in Gaza and the northern West Bank were surrounded by Palestinian populations, were costly and risky to maintain and defend, and eventually would be evacuated as part of any final-status agreement.
  • Palestinians living in Gaza and the northern West Bank would benefit from lifting Israeli security restrictions that had been needed to defend Jews living in those areas.
  • By withdrawing Israeli forces and settlements from Gaza, the Palestinian Authority and its security services would be held more accountable for - and reign in - terrorist acts committed by terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Israeli Opposition

Israelis against withdrawing from Gaza and the West Bank contended that:

  • Israel conquered those regions in a defensive war, and therefore should not be expected to make territorial concessions.
  • About 9,000 Israeli citizens lived in those areas and had spent decades building homes and establishing close-knit communities. For more facts and figures about Israel's withdrawal, click here.
  • Israel's withdrawal would be perceived as surrendering to - or worse, rewarding - terrorists, who would then step up their attacks against innocent people.
  • Israel's withdrawal required forcibly removing Israelis from their homes, which some claimed was a "population transfer." That, opponents said, amounted to a violation of human and civil rights and was in stark contrast with the fact that more than 1.2 million Arabs are citizens of Israel - a country where Christians, Muslims, Jews and others have freedom of religion, speech, press and the right to vote.
  • Israel's withdrawal would harm Israel's security, increased the threat of rocket attacks from Gaza on major Israeli population centers such as Ashkelon.
  • G-d promised the land of Israel to the Jewish people, and such land concessions went against that will.

America’s Perspective

The administration of President George W. Bush supported Israel’s withdrawal in the belief that it would move the peace process forward.

For more information about the disengagement plan, visit:

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