JERUSALEM — A government panel has reported that an Israeli
withdrawal would likely convert the West Bank into a launching pad for Palestinian
missile strikes.
The panel, headed by Foreign Ministry director-general Aharon
Abramovitch, concluded that Palestinian insurgency groups would quickly
acquire and deploy missiles soon after an Israeli withdrawal from the West
Bank. The Palestinians would then target Israeli military and civilian
targets throughout central Israel, the panel said.
Officials said the panel was established by then-Justice Minister Tzipi
Livni, who became foreign minister in March. The committee was directed to
assess government plans to unilaterally withdraw from up to 97 percent of
the West Bank by 2008.
"The panel concluded that Israel could not protect itself against
Palestinian missile strikes," an official said. "That conclusion has also
been bolstered by the Hizbullah war."
The committee determined that Hamas would take over the West Bank after
an Israeli withdrawal. Hamas has been the leading producer of missiles and
rockets in the Gaza Strip, which Israel ceded in September 2005.
Officials said the committee's report was reviewed by Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert. During the Lebanon war, Olmert pledged to retain his plan for
unilateral withdrawal.
The committee also warned of Jordan's opposition to an Israeli
withdrawal from the West Bank. The report said the Hashemite kingdom
regarded a Hamas-led entity as a critical danger.
"This is not the time to talk about the [withdrawal] plan," Tourism
Minister Gideon Ezra said. "There are more important things."
