On Gaza

Don't have much to say about the Gaza withdrawal, except A) It's about bloody time, and B) For the first time in living memory, the Israeli army is making headlines for its restraint.

Snark aside, the settlers in Gaza are finally being shown to be as crazy as I always assumed they were. Calling for Sharon's death, calling the Israeli soldiers Nazis (!), comparing it to a pogrom, all these things are just insane.

Let's be clear - these people elected to live in a place where they had no reasonable expectation of permanence. The settlements were always unsustainable, and only the might of the IDF and substantial financial incentives made it appear "normal". The settlers are being resettled and compensated (argh) generously.

The good news is that the Gaza withdrawal is going well, hopefully paving the way for a withdrawal from the West Bank, too.