Strategic Assessment

On June 6, 2004, the Israeli government approved the plan for disengagement from Gaza and northern Samaria, which announced, “The State of Israel has come to the conclusion that there is currently no reliable Palestinian partner with which it can make progress in a two-sided peace process. Accordingly, it has developed a plan of revised disengagement . . . [to break out of] the stalemate dictated by the current situation.” A primary goal of the plan is to “lead to a better security, political, economic, and demographic situation,” in part by reducing “friction” between Jewish and Arab populations through the dismantling of settlements. The plan represents a diplomatic measure by the government supplementary to the ongoing military action to stop Palestinian violence. Furthermore, it aims to create a situation in which the Palestinian Authority (PA) is forced either to take action to institute an orderly regime in the Gaza Strip, or yield to another governing power.