Sharon's Gamble, Netanyahu's Victory? Yossi Verter concludes this interesting analysis of the Israeli cabinet's vote yesterday to approve Sharon's disengagement plan with this:

Across the cabinet table yesterday, Sharon could see the whites of Benjamin Netanyahu's eyes. Sharon has turned to the center-left; Bibi has turned right. And after the disengagement, something will have to change, on the political map as well as the geographic map. Deep inside, Netanyahu is probably happy about the vote yesterday. If he succeeds Sharon, Gaza won't be his problem.

Meantime, this personnel change noted by Uri Avnery is worth reading:

The same week, something quite unexpected happened: Ariel Sharon sent the Chief-of-Staff, Moshe Ya’alon, packing. His successor will most probably be General Dan Halutz. Halutz is, of course, a pilot, and one who played his part in the 1981 attack on the Iraqi reactor. If he succeeds Ya’alon, it will be the first time in the annals of the Israel Defense Forces that an airman is appointed Chief-of-Staff. That is rather curious. In the coming year, the army will be called upon to carry out a very difficult operation on land: the evacuation of the Gaza Strip settlements. The appointment of an Air Force general as Chief-of-Staff may hint that the IDF is planning something even more important in the air.

Posted by Laura at February 21, 2005 01:23 PM