How Israel left Gaza

Abstract

We will never know with certainty what took place in the mind of Ariel Sharon in February 3, 2004, when he first declared, without consulting anyone, that he is ready to evacuate the Jewish settlements in Gaza. But if we try to put together the pieces of the disengagement puzzle, the scenario that makes most sense is that Sharon took a gamble, not knowing exactly how it would end. The plan was cooked up at the peak of international criticism of the construction of the West Bank wall, with the hearing of the Hague International Court of Justice scheduled to begin just a few weeks later, on February 23.