A far more sensible take on the Israeli situation than Friedman's:
Ariel, go to Gaza
By URI DAN
Ariel Sharon: Go to the Gaza settlers and explain why you have decided to uproot them from their homes.
You couldn't resist the pressure from three families demanding the return of their sons' bodies from Lebanon. You released hundreds of Arab prisoners in a decision prompted - as you put it - by Jewish feeling.
When you visit the hundreds of families designated for uprooting, you will meet pressure not to uproot them. This despite their being surrounded by thousands of fanatical Palestinians.
You need to explain why you cannot give in to their pressure, why you regard your Gaza decision as a "Jewish decision" too.
Face the Jews of Gaza, now. Explain that you intend to save most Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. It's true some of those will also be relocated, but the majority will remain in place. They will be protected by a security fence, leaving half of Judea and Samaria in Israel's possession.
Tell them the fire you are defending them against is mainly of local manufacture. The internal rift in Israel has contributed to hatred and incitement within our body politic. This has handed you the most impossible assignment you have ever encountered - saving Jews from themselves.
Politicians with inflated egos on both Left and Right mock you. Advocacy journalists and even senior officials in your government disparage you. They fail to understand the depth of your feelings about the catastrophe we face.
Visit every home in Gush Katif. Make a painful journey no other Jewish leader has ever made. Tell them the bitter truth: that there is no chance of peace for many years, despite all the sweeping concessions you have made in accordance with the road map.
But there is a risk of the Jewish state being destroyed by the architects of all the Oslo-type agreements since 1993. Tell them the dangers you see in Yossi Beilin's and Ami Ayalon's plans. Try to convince the Gaza settlers, face to face, that the alternatives are far worse.
YOU PUT them there. No one else in the leadership has fought for Israel's security in Gaza like you have - dating all the way back to the 1954 reprisal raids.
Tell them the truth: It's precisely because there's no chance for peace that you must shorten Israel's defense lines; this is the way to give them maximum security.
Explain to them that it's only now, after three years of desperate attempts to achieve peace, that you are resorting to disengagement. That it's not just separation but minimum contact with the Palestinians - no workers, no tax collection.
Make it clear to our brothers in the Katif Bloc that when you talk about relocating settlements you mean transferring their entire contents to a new place. The story of Yamit will not be repeated.
Everything will be relocated, from the houses themselves to the piping under the roads. Employment, too.
Reveal to them what is now clear even to the White House: that there is no hope of reaching stable agreements with the Palestinians - no chance, in fact, of the Palestinians being able to rule themselves.
The Palestinian situation is hopeless. There are 13 organizations that are both political parties and militant bodies controlling military forces. They have personnel in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Palestinians from the Gaza Strip leave through tunnels to Egypt, then go on to Lebanon to train with Hizbullah. They return to Gaza carrying arms from Lebanon.
Explain to the settlers that this is the form the war is taking.
Speak to the settlers, Ariel. Address their hearts and minds, and try to convince them that you, as the person responsible for the security of the Jews, must shorten, fence, and strengthen the lines in order to achieve Jewish security for many years to come.
Perhaps - just perhaps - these wonderful settlers will be convinced that no one but you can implement this revolutionary program to save Israel from its enemies.
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