[Israelis have decided that] 9,000 people cannot set the political agenda, ... They cannot have thousands of soldiers jeopardizing their (own) lives in order to protect them. |
9,000 people cannot set the political agenda. They cannot have thousands of soldiers jeopardizing their (own) lives in order to protect them. |
Everybody understands that this (withdrawal) is the prelude to the big battle |
For many years after the creation of the state of Israel, that was considered a marginal, extremist view. But then came the [1967] war, and Israel's control of the West Bank, and overnight this didn't seem like such pie in the sky. It seemed suddenly like some kind of achievable vision. |
I think the main outcome of the election is that all of the proponents of Greater Israel were hit and hit hard. |
If Sharon does decide to split, he will now have Shimon Peres to join him. We don't need a long shelf life [for a new party] -- the horizon is the next election. |
If Sharon would have stayed, then a government headed by him making further disengagements in the next year or two was a good likelihood. As of now, that is off the political agenda. There is nobody around who can move the country quickly to make hurtful concessions if it's not him. |
The right wing lost big time. |
The standing of the various parties now is like a big strand of spaghetti all wound around itself. By the time of the elections, everything could look entirely different. That's how fast things change here. |
Tuesday is only the end of Phase One. After that is Phase Two, which could be more consequential. |
We are having an election that ideologically is probably the most important that we've ever had. |