The Orbis

Prime Minisiter Ariel Sharon addresses the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem in an attempt to garner support from the opposition to back his proposed peace paln. Photo courtesy of www.krtcampus.com [Click to enlarge]

In a series of large, angry protests, Israelis have continued to become increasingly vocal about their opposition to the Mideast peace plan. The plan calls for Israel to pull all troops out of Gaza and abandon all Israeli settlements in the territory, although Israel would be allowed to maintain six settlement blocks in the West Bank. Part of the peace plan also allows Israel to preserve its power over Gaza's airspace, coastline and borders.

While the majority of Israelis support the peace plan, nearly 100,000 turned out for the Yesha Council coordinated protests in Jerusalem. The West Bank settlements and Gaza house nearly 237,500 Israelis who would be forced to leave their homes. These settlers, who would receive a compensation package, have threatened violence and even warned of a civil war.

Ariel Sharon, prime minister of Israel, supports the peace plan, against the wishes of the United States, in the hope of increasing Israel's security and stopping security bombers. He also supports the "Unilateral Disengagement Plan" that calls for Israel to act alone, since there is no credible Palestinian with which to negotiate. President Bush has stated that he still hopes Israel and Palestine will follow the so-called "road map."

Yet, Israel will find the peace plan more difficult to implement than expected. Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, has vowed to step up the violence against Israel to demonstrate that Israel is indeed leaving Palestine in defeat. Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and the Fatah Movement have all been accused of dramatically increased the number of weapons being smuggled into Palestine from Egypt.

While the peace plan is supported by roughly 70 percent of Israelis, many Palestinians have criticized the plan because it will leave thousands of Palestinians cut off from jobs, schools and other necessary aspects of life. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said of the plan, "We insist that the disengagement from Gaza must be part of the 'Road Map' and not an alteration to it." Yet, at the same time, Palestinians are eager to assume control of their own government, in which Hamas has said it will participate. While the unilateral disengagement plan is a step in the right direction, both the Palestinians and the Israelis have much more to concede and a long way to go.

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